The Romance of Sadness
by 26AngelofMusic26
Summary: The second time the Pevensies went to Narnia was the saddest for Peter and Susan. And Edmund. Something happened to him, something that he does not speak of to anyone. A girl held his heart for the shortest time, but it felt the longest to him. Set in Prince Caspian. Edmund/OC. Smut in later chapters, rating has changed.
1. Midnight Hours

**A sort of author's note:**

**Hey! Just wanted to say that many things came from my mind and are probably not canon (isn't every fanfiction that way?) and many impressions of second characters are based on the movie so please don't hate me. It was all in good fun. **

**Also, everyone is a bit older than they are in the movie. We could say that Edmund's age goes from 18—up to, let's say 22? There are no specifications regarding this, so you can imagine whatever you like best. **

**Well, this story was inspired by several songs: Mainly, Space Dementia by Muse, and Bones by Ms Mr. In case you are interested. **

**Anyway, go on my dearies and read and reviews would be very much appreciated! **

**And of course, I own nothing of The Chronicles of Narnia and its universe but my OC.**

_Chapter 1_

_Midnight Hours_

"They out-number us. But if we—"Caspian commenced, talking to Peter, but he interrupted.

"If the Telmarines are out here that means no one is taking care of their castle."

"What are you suggesting? Nobody has ever taken the castle. We have the advantage here."

"We are surrounded, it's best to attack them precisely where they don't expect us. We have a better chance there." Peter retorted, and Caspian nodded, knowing that the High-King had more experience than he. Caspian still did not think it to be a good idea.

"Both ideas are ridiculous." Edmund said, every head turning to him. "But, Peter's is the best. If the Telmarines are smart enough they will starve us out." Peter turned to Caspian, looking at him with a bit of superiority and anger in his eyes.

"However," Edmund continued, "it would be even madder to come storming in without knowing what we're doing." at this, Caspian's eyebrow's furrowed, and when he looked up at Edmund, he spoke.

"Someone needs to see how the guards operate, to see which flank is better to attack." Edmund said and Caspian nodded.

"Do you remember any of this, Caspian?" Susan asked.

"Unfortunately, I don't. I never concerned myself with those matters."

"Then somebody needs to go." Edmund looked at Peter, and Caspian.

"I'll go." said Caspian, thinking about the people he left behind; his professor, his sister.

"No, it's best if you don't. They're looking for you and if they catch you, they'll kill you on the spot." Susan said.

"Then who?" Caspian asked her, staring into her eyes, their infatuation evident.

"Edmund will." Peter said making Edmund raise his head in surprise.

Peter shot him a fierce look that dared him not to decline. Edmund looked at Caspian for confirmation and upon getting a small nod as a response he went that same night to the castle, blending with the shadows.

**[~~~~~~~]**

She woke again form that hideous dream. She had seen her brother again, wounded, lost forever in the midst of the woods that the Telmarines did not dare enter. She feared Caspian was dead, especially when she did not get the chance to say goodbye.

Her breathing was unsteady, her clothes damp on her skin. She wanted to believe that everything was going to be right soon, that Caspian would come back and Miraz would not be on his tail, but in that small room, with little space to breathe properly it all seemed to be a foolish hope.

Without a second thought, she stood up and left her chamber in search of fresh air. The castle was deathly quiet as she slipped past her door. She prayed not to encounter anyone on the way and let the tears fall down her eyes, tears of frustration and sadness.

Thankfully, she did not hear the rubble of guards pacing up and down in the halls; she did not hear nocturnal birds. It seemed she _was_ alone, just as she had wanted.

As she kept on walking, inhaling the cold air into her lungs, thinking of a way of regaining her strength, she heard ever-so subtle slither of a sword out of its sheath. She stood frightened for a second, waiting before silence returned to the corridors to resume her walk.

A thump there, hurried steps here. The possibility of a haunting assaulted her and almost made her stop in her tracks, but a distraction would have suited her, she decided, forgetting everything for a moment.

She approached the source of the noise: the servant's staircase. She waited for another noise as she kept concealed in the shadows. Her confirmation was rushed footsteps coming up. She stood backwards on instinct, fearing for a moment she would be discovered. She pressed her back against the wall, keeping still.

She felt her nightgown elevate slightly from her legs and she held her breath. She awaited a few seconds until everything was silent once more and peeked inside the spiral staircase to see if it was empty.

When she tried to walk on, she felt something cold on her neck. She looked to her right, and found a man with piercing brown eyes staring down at her with a furrowed brow. She could see the drops of sweat and flushed cheeks on his pale skin.

Until he realized she was not a threat, he withdrew the sword to precede his route up stairs, as if she had never been there.

It was clear he was an intruder, and for a moment she wondered if he had something to do with the insanity of Caspian's disappearance. She turned around in the search for guards desperately, but none were near. She decided to take justice into her hands and followed him up in a bit silly courage.

She tried, or rather hoped, her footsteps were not heard by him. But he was much quicker than her. He was at the top of the tower in less than a few seconds, while she was still a few steps away. She hurried only to find him standing there, just staring.

This time, she was able to take him in fully. He was tall, at least taller than her, had the sword sheathed on his hip, a knife drawn out on his hand, heavy breathing making the golden lion engraved in his chest rise up and down, as his eyes searched hungrily his surroundings.

"Are you armed?" his breathing was much slower when he said those words, but he pronounced them carefully and in an accent she did not recognize.

At her silence a smirk pressed in his lips. Well, of course she was not going to be armed, it was quite obvious that she was not carrying any weapons; she was barefoot for Aslan's sake!

He couldn't help his eyes traveling subtly up her figure, making him notice that the recently rained surface made her cold. He scolded himself for taking in that view, without being his intentions in the first place.

The girl was frozen in the spot, trying to think of something to say.

"What business do you have here?" she asked, fear showing in her voice.

"Nothing that concerns you." At that, she said nothing.

She did realize how unflattering and how vulnerable she must have looked at that moment, trying to play the hero with her hair all messed and tangled, dressed in a semi-transparent night gown.

She thought about shouting, calling for a guard, anything for him to be caught by Telmarine forces in that moment. But the words did not escape her mouth fast enough.

As if reading her thoughts, he knew it was time to escape. He turned his back and approached the edge of the tower. He was able to hear her feet move along the puddles of the floor.

"You haven't seen anything." he said, truly hoping the girl would not come to any harm on his behalf, as he placed himself at the edge of the turret.

He watched her stunned face one last time before he had one foot dangling in the air. This time she did shout, thinking the man was going to kill himself.

The last thing he heard was her gasp before he fell into the back of the griffin and immediately flew away from the Telmarine castle, not sparing a moment to look back at the confused maiden.

Not less than a second later, a guard attended her scream and found her bending dangerously over the edge of the watchtower. The guard took her by the waist, careful not to touch her in any inappropriate way as he glanced down too. He did not see anything but heard a bird chirping at the top of his head. Both turned their heads upwards to find the paws of the beast almost hitting them in their heads.

While she was still astounded by the whole thing, the guard wasted no time and called for reinforcements, that started by throwing a storm of arrows at the creature and its rider. Guards proceeded to take the lady back into the castle. The best she could do was watch from the sleek windows; she heard the castle awaken at once, everyone going up in madness, as she just heard one last screech from the creature before it got away.

**Hi again. I just wanted to say I'm sorry the chapter is short, but it's the introduction, so it didn't have to be that long...hopefully the upcoming chapters will be longer. **

**Until next time :)**


	2. Kissing Death

_Chapter 2 _

_Kissing death_

_Hmmm_

_H8 is the one for me_

_It gives me all I need_

_And helps me coexist_

_With a chill_

The only thing she wanted to do was to go back to her chambers quietly, lie on her bed hoping never again to meet that man and lull herself to sleep, thinking of never taking a mid-night stroll after a nightmare again. But the guards that should have aided her instead took her to General Glozelle, saying it was of major importance to describe the scene. She passed from soldier to soldier, enduring their gazes on her body.

Now she wished she had never risen from her bed. She thought the night would never end, until she was finally taken to Glozelle. He looked tired and clearly not in the mood for that at such hours into the night, and did not ask many questions. Eventually he decided to let the matter go. He escorted her back to her chambers, to ensure that there wasn't any unwanted attention directed to her.

She came back to her bed, but did not sleep again. She patiently waited for morning to come, and thought about who to tell what she had seen. She doubted Miraz would be of much help. As she tried listing people who would help her, she found she was alone. The only who would be willing to defy Miraz would be Cornelius, the professor. That was the last person she had.

Once morning had broken into the land she came out of the still somewhat soggy nightgown in which she had been curled up all night. A bit hesitant, she stood up and changed into a dress and left the nightgown extended on the bed.

Without anything on her skin she moved towards the slim sun ray that leaked through her window, feeling how it warmed her, then she looked at the dress lying on the bed and with a bit of a shy flinch she noticed it was too transparent for it to be acceptable for a stranger. She worried more about all the guards that saw her like so, more than the man that went away flying into the night.

Going out and about the castle, trying to continue her daily activities seemed a bit hard. She tried to carry herself gracefully, as best as she could but it did not seem to be enough. The events of last night stumbled up her mind much more frequently than what she would want.

It was until mid noon that she felt something was wrong. Prunaprismia wanted to speak to her alone, making her the centre of further gossip between the castle's courts about the events of the previous night.

She started by taking her hands into hers, and looking at her sternly in her eyes. The girl truly wanted to disappear in that moment.

"Ariadne," Prunaprismia started, measuring her words, "I know what happened last night was an accident, but, things are delicate at the moment and it is best if you..." Ariadne spoke to answer her, quite nervous.

"I know, my lady, but it hadn't been my intention, it was just to—"

"Yes, child, I understand. But, I just wanted to say, we hold nothing against you. Lord Miraz is pleased that you discovered a spy, and does not blame you." Ariadne was quite relieved at the Lady's words. "However, it would be best not exceed your actions." her expression had changed, she stopped being Miraz's cold wife, and shown true concern.

"My husband's mind could change rapidly. There are all sorts of theories about your brother, and as far as you can be of these matters, the better. We are pulling at weak threads that could break in any second."

Ariadne remained silent, scared for a moment.

"I don't want you to be alarmed. It's just a word of warning." At that last sentence, her face became stiff again, void of emotion, as a strong Lady should be. She dismissed Ariadne, who retrieved to her chambers to calm down. Resting gave her the opportunity to think the matter through once more.

Caspian's disappearance coinciding with the birth of a son to Miraz was too much of a coincidence. Perhaps it wasn't a coincidence. But she couldn't be certain.

And then there was him. Danger. That's what he meant. Whatever he was. Logic did not seem to present itself anywhere when she recalled the situation. She knew he was a threat...but to what?

Nothing gave her answers, so she had to seek for herself. If she had the answers to the questions that lied within her because of him, she could rest again. Never in her life had she questioned anything, and he seemed to spark that.

Yes, he was danger. But what's life without it? And then there Caspian. The memory of her brother deserved the best that she could give.

Irrationally, she did exactly what Prunaprismia told her not to do. She went deeper into the problem.

Somehow she knew he would be there again, he would come again in the dark night. So she waited until sunset, surrounding herself in a spiral of lies, pretending innocence, to sneak out in the dead of night, again.

All her life she had been neglected of information, but it was time to change. The opportunity was now.

Ariadne excused herself of her duties earlier, saying she had to rest because of a headache. In that time she observed: the number of guards were doubled, their swords sharpened and the torches made the halls shine brighter.

It was too much security for just one man. Or was he something else? The suspicion within her increased. It proved Miraz was afraid of something of which she hadn't any knowledge of.

That day she started realizing many things that opened up her eyes, and perhaps it wasn't for the best.

Darkness fell completely, and the moon showed up in the sky. The castle fell asleep, but she did not. The stars were watching; that much she knew. The air told her to be ready and her gut that he would be there soon. She just wanted answers, that was all.

**[~~~~~~~]**

The night threatened to turn into day as he approached Aslan's How, mounted on the griffin's back. Peter and Caspian had been awaiting his arrival eagerly and both rushed to speak first, as if they had been competing.

"Well?" Peter asked demandingly.

"The upper towers are the most unwatched. Main gates only have four guards, lowly armored. The rest of the guards rest below the castle, but I do not suggest going into the mid-parts of the castle." Edmund spoke, Caspian furrowed his brow.

"I thought there would be the lowest security there, only the servants live in that part of the castle."

"Yes, about that..." Edmund trailed off, his face twisted into a grimace. His sisters entered the room, and he was thankful for that small distraction that allowed him to think what to say.

"I don't think it would be advisable to go there, I may have called a bit of attention there."

"Why?" asked Lucy innocently. Edmund had been praying for that question not to be asked.

"I may have...ohm, well, I just saw a girl there, who had been following me apparently." Lucy laughed, but the others remained serious.

"I didn't consider her to be of any importance, but she seemed to react and screamed and the guards saw me just when I was fleeing." Edmund rushed his words.

"Oh, come on." said Peter, anger showing in him.

"They'll be doubling the shift tonight, then." said Caspian thoughtfully.

"Hey, it's not a big deal, Peter." Susan intervened. Edmund thought for a moment, thinking about how to mend his mistake, as he always did.

"Look, tonight I'll go in first. I will make sure the coast is clear, and then signal it to you."

"With what?" Susan asked.

"With this." Edmund took his torch that had been lying in the table with the rest of the weapons. Caspian considered it a good idea.

"But as you go, someone needs to dispose of the guards at the main courtyard so our troops can infiltrate." Caspian added.

"Yes, Reepicheep and his mice could do the job. They won't be noticed. And we need to get inside by air, to open the gates and ambush them." Peter said, showing why once he had been called Peter the Magnificent, his childish anger fading.

Not long after that their plan was settled by a discouraged Caspian and a Peter that needed to prove he still was the same king from the Golden Age.

_**[~~~~~~~]**_

She managed out of her chamber, without any light to guide her way. Again, with cold feet she confronted into the castle, though this time she was dressed to endure whatever the night had prepared for her with dignity.

This time she thought about her steps carefully and took precautions. She reached what she knew was an empty tower, and stayed there for a while until she heard nearby footsteps, groans of men wrestling. Somehow she knew it was him.

Then she heard screams, and then the bells tolling. The castle was under attack. She looked out the door, but guards were outside the corridor. She stayed again and peeked out the window, for that moment her will was torn between fear and the want for knowledge she had previously desired.

There were people fighting in the courtyard, and not just people, but also creatures of legend, creatures she did not think were real. As she kept on watching it did not cease to impress her. Humans were fighting alongside beasts; it was as if the things she had been brought upon her whole life were collapsing in that battle between Telmarines and Narnians.

She searched for stairs once again, trying to find the black-haired boy and the answers he held.

She reached the top of the tower and there was nowhere else to go. The door was open, leading to more guards stationed with crossbows, aiming at the courtyard. She looked out expectantly, and before much could happen, someone slid from the roof and threw a Telmarine guard off the edge. Ariadne was too much stressed to distinguish left from right; much less the foes from friends, especially when they were both humans and everything was dark.

The man stood, and the guards turned to him, pointing the crossbows.

"Look out!" Ariadne heard herself screaming before she could avoid it. The man turned and ran inside the room with her, falling to the ground to avoid the arrows. Ariadne hid in the corner as he closed the door with his foot.

She saw the lion in his chest. It was him. She had saved the life of the intruder. Now she felt like a traitor to her people, to her own cause.

He had still a lion imprinted on his chest, and she let her eyes divert to it. He stood and looked at her, he looked like he wanted to say something, but she spoke first.

"Who are you?" She didn't mean it as an aggression, but it sounded harsh because of fear.

"Who am I?" His expression changed suddenly, it became darker. "Who are _you_ is the real question." He said eyeing her and recognizing her. This time she was wearing a wool, simple dress, heavy for the night's cold air; not allowing him to see what he saw on their previous encounter, he caught himself noticing.

She gathered courage. "I am sure I must be no one to you..." she said, he was surprised that she had made such a remark and remained silent. He realized she had a Spanish accent, like most Telmarines.

"Isn't that the point of meeting people? Turning no one into someone?" he said and she looked at him with bewilderment. He continued, "You always seem to be there, you saved my life today." he said, wiping his brow, looking around the room, weighing the sword in his hand. He walked towards the staircases, searching for a way to escape. "But you haven't told me your name." he said casually.

"Ariadne," She finally breathed and went a bit nearer. She desperately thought about a way to make him talk, decided that her sincerity would return the favor.

He turned halfway, making his neck wrinkle and half his face visible in the dim moonlight.

"Like the myths." he chuckled. "Interesting name. I think you should be careful of your actions, to honor the goddess you were named after." He turned to her, she crossed her arms.

"The name you receive does not make you enslaved for the rest of your life. Imagine if we had to live in honor of our name-sakes. Where would free will go?" he laughed softly at her retort. He went down the stairs with Ariadne in his trail.

"Hey! Where are you going?" she said, not wanting to him go so quickly.

"Well, this is a battle. We are surrounded by Telmarines, I am trying to find a way out." he said sarcastically. He stopped when he reached the end of the tower, seeing that it was a dead end.

"You're lost."

"Oh, you don't say. Come on, you're a Telmarine, help me get out."

"Why should I help you? You're the enemy."

"You saved my life, this is nothing compared to that." she argued with herself for a bit but lead him out nonetheless.

As she walked ahead of him she proceeded to think about what to do.

Yesterday she had been so afraid of him, of him and whatever threat he represented. Now she had even helped him, talked to him like she talked to a friend. She couldn't help but feel comfortable around him, much to her despair.

But perhaps now she could handle him over to the general, for invading the castle; said the half of herself that wanted everything to be normal again. But she reminded herself that she didn't have the complete puzzle. She didn't really know what he fought for, what his intentions were... perhaps it would be right that something would overthrow Miraz, for he wasn't the rightful leader. And above everything, she wanted justice for Caspian's case.

He paid attention instead to her moving figure; the way her hips slowly moved from side to side as she walked, the quietness of her feet on the floor, the flowing of her gown and the ruffle in her hair the wind of her pace created. He did not think himself as a being capable of noticing so much of anything, much less a Telmarine woman, much less her. Was it lust?

"I offer you a deal." She turned to him abruptly, in the middle of a corridor. He turned, looking side to side, never letting his guard down.

"I'm listening."

"I give you a safe route to escape and you owe a favor."

"It seems fair."

"Even if that favor involves risking your integrity?"

"Yes, even if it does. You are doing that right now, so it seems like the right thing to do the same in return." Ariadne gave him a small nod.

That was what made her lead him to a place where he could escape the guards and return safely. Once they halted, his eyes found hers and she held them for a second before speaking.

"You come here all dressed for battle, a sword in your hand and a defiant look in your face and yet, you let yourself be guided blindly by a woman you've just met."

He smiled and looked down while he tried to figure out things that he knew perfectly well could not be figured out.

"I wanted to believe you were kind." He moved closer to her, so much that they were both breathing the same air. "Perhaps I've been asking too much of you tonight."

"Yes, maybe you have," she said, not avoiding a smile. In that moment of silence, his hand left the handle of his sword and took her chin. She looked alert to whatever was his next move, afraid and yet intrigued. Her mouth was slightly open, and she looked at his full lips suddenly so tempting.

"Thank you for saving my life today." In a swift action he caught her lips within his. At first he did not move, nor did she. She confined herself with feeling her upper lip trapped within his cold mouth, but as their time kept running out, she took a breath and renewed their kiss.

As she kept her eyes closed, she realized much to her sorrow that his lips entwined with hers felt incredibly good. She thought that just that action ought to have its own punishment for making her want more.

The harmless kiss would have turned into something much more dangerous if there hadn't been sudden hurried footsteps not that far away in the corridor.

With a final tongue slip, as if promising more, he let go. As the Casanova he was, he winked at her, gave her one last lustful look and went away into the dark night.

That kiss meant their death sentences, an assured heart breaking event.

**Author's note:**

**Hello again. I just wanted to say that since this story first occurred to me as a one-shot/song fic, and eventually turned multi-chapter I thought I'd still include the stanza that corresponded to the part of the story, just to clear everything up. **

**Disclaimer: Recognizable characters belong to C.S. Lewis, only Ariadne belongs to me. Any lyrics featured belong to Muse. **


	3. Love-lost believers

_**Author's note: **_

_**Hi. Thanks to kungfupandabear for dropping a review, hope you like this chapter :) **_

_**Anyway, I just made some small adjustments to the first two chapters, (Ariadne is Caspian's sister. I thought it would make things more interesting and allows me to further the story) so if anyone that has been reading so far wants to read again they are most welcome. If not, no issue, just know that Ariadne princess but didn't flee with Caspian because Miraz had no quarrel with her.**_

_**Sorry for that small change, but go and read! **_

_Chapter 3_

_Love-lost believers_

Dumbstruck, she stood there for what felt like ages, every bone in her body petrified. He sent endless shivers down her spine and non-stopping sighs of longing. The problem was that that was how he remained—_he. _

He had let her taste his lips, trusted her with his life, but not his name. Who was he that he held that secret with his life? Oh, but he _had_ given her his signature. That kiss was unique, and she knew she would find him.

Battle sounds pulled her out of her thoughts, and she remembered where she was and what was her purpose. He had made her forget for a while that above all she had been looking for the truth, the kiss just happened to be a coincidence, a beautiful coincidence.

As she snapped herself out of it and started moving, trying not lose his trail (after all, there was a whole army outside the gates that knew who he was) she realized the true scenery of her small love-affair. Miraz was up in his balcony, surrounded by his generals, with a crossbow in his hand. Prunaprismia was being held back by her own guards, as she tried to shout above the noise to the man she called her husband, trying to persuade him out of shooting someone.

Ariadne's hand flew to her mouth when she saw who he was pointing at. There was her brother, coming from the stables mounted in a horse and two others held by the leash on his hand. A woman and dwarf mounted it while looking for another human amongst the battle of beasts.

"CASPIAN!" She couldn't help her cry escape her mouth, full of pain and yet full of hope that her brother was still out there, alive.

The narnians were retreating, with a Minotaur holding the gate, helping the rest escape. Caspian turned to the source of the scream, recognizing his sister's voice, but he did not see her. But this called the wrong attention; guards took her by the arms, and just like she had seen they did with Prunaprismia only a few seconds ago.

The rest of the night was a fumbled mess to her; not much did she remember after.

**[~~~~~~~]**

Before Edmund left, he heard her scream and watched Caspian's recognition. He saw then the guards grabbing her and letting her inside, out of the battle. She fought them, but they succeeded in the end; her strength was overpowered. He would have gotten her out of harm, taken her with him, with her family, to his brother and professor, but now she was out of his reach. If only he had known who she was, things would be different.

Silently, as he went away, he promised that he would come back to her, not matter the price.

**[~~~~~~~]**

Tears slipped away quietly, tears of frustration for not going with his brother and leaving the castle she now felt prisoner of. It did not take her long however, to realize tears were of no use.

The bells tolled outside once again in the morning, but this time they announced the proclaiming of the new king Miraz. A crowd gathered outside of the now-royal balcony to gaze at the new monarchs. She stood inside her room, thinking of what to do.

She had to go to her brother; he was the only family she had left. But to do so, she had to know what she was doing. She gathered the clues: two humans were accompanying him besides the narnians, a male and a female, and _him. _

She thought of him again. His kiss hadn't come to her mind during the night, but in that moment the memory came to her and struck her like lightning. That passion, that kiss had been like a taste of freedom. _He _felt like freedom. And freedom she was going to look for, no matter the price.

Before celebrations were over she decided to get moving again, being sad would not help her achieve anything. So she did the best thing she could think of.

The only person that had talked to her about Narnians had been her professor. He had always been segregated for telling those tales besides of a bedtime story, but now he could help her solve the riddle.

She did not bother in stopping to retrieve the key from anywhere Miraz may have had it while Cornelius was imprisoned, and instead went directly to his study.

Watching out for guards, she forced the keyhole with a metal stick. It was hard to open at first, but it finally clicked, allowing her to pass. She pushed the door harshly, making it scrape the floor. The previous marks on the flooring, the mess of his books thrown on the floor, the parchments spread wide on the desk and his maps broken, were numerous proves that somebody had been there previously.

She searched quickly for the books that Miraz had banned Cornelius to show them, making her remember the days where Miraz did not threaten to take their lives away.

Stuck up in a pile where non-traditionalists book of Narnian history, and harmless books of myths and legends were next to the chimney, as if waiting to be burnt.

She turned to the doorway nervously before bending over beside them. She opened them up to analyze its contents quickly. She ripped off the pages that talked about the past, about the lion imprinted in his chest that belonged to an era long gone.

She passed her finger over the pages quickly over the illustrations, barely scanning the words, but she already knew that he was part of something much bigger. It spoke of four kings and queens, how Narnia was never right until they ruled. But they left, it said, and never returned. The pictures were inaccurate, of course, in 1300 years a face is easily forgotten, but still they held an air to the people she had seen in the courtyard on the previous night.

Her heartbeat quickened slightly at the thought that he had kissed one of those four monarchs, but she had already accepted there was a kind of magic concealed in the land, and perhaps now it had finally shown itself.

Ariadne did not allow herself to read, in fear of being caught. The ripped pages were stored at her sleeve; impractical, she knew, but she had no other choice. As the tearing sound grew louder, she held her breath, thinking someone would find her.

Having taken what she needed, she stood up, and stored them carefully, facing the huge window from which light poured in, blinding her for a second. That loss of her senses made her clumsy, and she didn't notice somebody's presence behind her until it was much too late. He cleared his throat.

"This is a prohibited room, your...highness." Miraz said while Ariadne tried to turn around quickly, with her hands concealed behind her back. She finished tucking the pages in.

"Of course, my lord." she said, refusing to call him majesty. "I was just here for the books I had lent the professor long ago. Now I understand it was wrong of me to come here without your gracious permission." Miraz nodded and muttered a weak 'yes'.  
"I hope you know that your beloved professor, and your brother Caspian, are traitors. It was of my belief that he had been abducted, but, it turns out he is an instigator of a rebellion." His words were full of poison and of hatred. Ariadne became nervous, she could feel her hands shaken, and Miraz seemed to notice.  
"I was informed you saw the battle yourself, and surely you know by now that Caspian will be hunted for, in the hope to seize this abominable Narnian attack."  
Ariadne was upset, and wanted to leave the room to avoid doing something she might regret later.  
"And that means death." Miraz finished. Ariadne had started moving, trying to go towards the door. She knocked books on her way out, all of them falling open on pages that talked of the ancient times, as if it had been on purpose. Just before she was out in the corridor, Miraz spoke behind her.  
"I do most sincerely hope you do not condone your brother's actions. Otherwise..." he trailed off, "Be careful with the tricks you play, princess." When she had turned the corner and was descending the stairs, only then did she dare to breathe again.

Reaching a safe room, she unwrinkled the pages to read them. Then she saw the sketches of those four monarchs. One had the same dark eyes as him. Under it said King Edmund, known as the Just.

She thought about his name, and considered it suited him. She remembered their conversation, how he said he would repay her what she did for him, because it was fair.

Ariadne decided that he was a mystery, that there was more, she could almost be certain. The books simply refused to tell her. She would have to find out.

She heard troops marching out of the castle, ready to go into the battle Miraz spoke about. If Caspian was trying to start a war, then perhaps they were the best chance they had of winning. Now Ariadne knew she did not belong there, trapped with the Telmarines, she needed to be at the other side.

Quietly, she whispered to herself as she looked out of the window, with the wind striking her face:  
"Where to find you?" as his dark eyes appeared in her memory.  
Little did she know that the trees were waking up, and that her whispers were taken to him from leaf to leaf.


	4. Hard Times for Dreamers

**Hi lovely readers! I just wanted to thank every reviewer and everyone who had added this to their alerts and favorites, you're awesome. Aaand, to my friend, a mi changa, who reads this ;)**

**Anyway, off you go. Read and review!**

_Chapter 4_

_Hard times for dreamers_

Caspian placed his head on his hands, memories of everything he had done, going through his mind. The fallen Narnians were placed images in his head and the voice of her sister ringing through his ears. He was sunk in deep sadness, to the point where he thought the war was a lost cause.

He lifted his head to find Edmund entering the room, breaking his solitude. Edmund didn't look at him, for it wasn't his purpose to talk to Caspian; he had his own troubles in mind, but both shared a feeling of guilt for Ariadne staying behind.

"Did you see her?" Caspian asked Edmund, trying to ease his sorrow. Edmund did not know how to reply, he could speak the truth...but it was the truth that hurt the most.  
"I mean, you were inside the castle. I think you could have seen her...but I should have looked, and—" Caspian's voice sounded so defeated that finally Edmund thought confessing the truth would be better.  
"I did." said Edmund and something ignited in Caspian's eyes. He stood up while Edmund struggled with his words.  
"I met her the first time I went to the castle. I did not know who she was. I am..." he trailed off, trying to decipher his emotions, "sincerely sorry, Caspian."  
Caspian ran a hand through his hair, and then rubbed the back of his neck, gazing at the floor.  
"If I had known, she would be here now." Edmund looked at the ground too, not wanting Caspian to see how angry he was with himself, true guilt reflecting in his eyes.  
"I've failed. I've failed my people, I've failed my family." Caspian seemed to say that to himself, rather than to Edmund. He would have told Caspian that there was no use in blaming himself and that it wasn't his fault, but how could he if he could not even forgive himself?  
"She is smart, Caspian. Trust her, she won't be in harm's way."  
"I do trust her. I don't trust Miraz."

Caspian had voiced Edmund's thoughts. He knew Miraz could perfectly well use her as pawn during battle if he was smart enough. And he didn't want her to become another of Miraz's victims.

And that was what he had been fearing, when he first saw her, so pretty in the moonlight. That he would care, that he would fall in love and that she would be torn apart from him.  
Never in the Golden Age had he found anyone; but now that his time on Narnia felt so scarce, he had to meet her.

If this was the only chance they had, then he would make it worthwhile.

That was how he decided he would stop running away from his feelings and accept that finally his heart was not his to command anymore.

"I need some air." Edmund escaped the room, leaving Caspian alone.

Edmund thought that perhaps his sudden reaction would give too much of his feelings away, but talking about it made everything so much more difficult.

Why did feelings have to be so complicated?

[~~~~~~~]

It could have been hours since Edmund had last spoken to anyone. He had tried to keep his mind busy with battle strategies, with new ways of arranging the army; anything to avoid thinking of her.  
He found that that was the most difficult task he had had to face. Half of him thought of her and the taste of her lips, while the other half wanted to tear himself apart for leaving her behind, and then there was a third part that thought it would be wiser to simply not care.

But he couldn't. Something that was impossible to describe told him that he cared and quite a lot. He had tried labeling it—lust, he had called it, but now, perhaps it was love. It could have been something in between, a deathly combination of both, but either way it was impossible to deny.  
The rustling of the trees outside reminded him of the old Narnia; of how their spirits had once danced and talked, but now they were no different than the trees back in England. That was why when the wind blew once more, and it seemed like her voice travelled though it, that any doubt he had faded away. It was the most subtle of whispers; an _Edmund _simply, but spoken by her voice.

He would have thought he was daft, but he desperately wanted to believe it was her. If he hadn't imagined it, and he hoped to Aslan he didn't, that would have been the proof that she was under that spell too.

But then the sweet voice stopped, replaced by a horrible high pitched one. "Come, Edmund. I've missed you," that voice, he knew who it belonged to. The Witch, the one he thought he had gotten rid off so many years ago.  
Edmund immediately started hearing chants inside the How, and entered hurriedly; fearing Ariadne was under the Witch's power.

It befuddled him that the Witch was trapped inside the wall of ice and that her eyes were fixed upon Caspian as if she had never said anything inside Edmund's head.  
"Help me get out, Edmund, and I will make you powerful, and you'll have the girl you love." Edmund stood, scared, thinking of what to do.  
Caspian seemed to be sunken into a dream, his movements clumsy. Peter and Lucy entered the room as, calling the hag and the dwarf's attention and making Edmund take action.

Edmund fought the werewolf, trying to duck his claws from stabbing his chest while his sword was trying to dig into his neck. Edmund tried to strike him in the legs, but the werewolf jumped, a knife raised ready to hit Edmund in the ribs. As Edmund jumped back and he was momentarily out of the werewolf's reach, the opportunity to beat him presented itself, but the witch's voice, distracted him once more.  
"I only need one drop of your blood, son of Adam. One drop and you will be able to have all that you desire and more."  
"No," he heard Caspian say as his cut palm dripped scarlet liquid into the ground.  
The werewolf recovered and charged towards Edmund, who jumped backwards with his sword raised in response, this time attentive to both the Witch's words and the fight.  
"Let's not waste that," the Witch said, losing the tone of sweetness for a moment. "Come on, dear. Just one drop. Your enemies will perish; your allies will be rewarded. One drop and your sister, the one left behind, will be safe." Jadis talking about Ariadne made Edmund repulsed, and it made him angry. With that burst of energy of pure hatred, he finished off the werewolf, his sword impaled in his chest.

Pushed aside, Peter took Caspian's place inside the circle. Edmund knew instantaneously that Peter had chosen the worst place to stand in. He could see Caspian thrown on the ground, without moving and looking at his hand, thinking about what he had almost done.

Edmund did not spare much time to gazing into the scenery and instead moved through the darkest corners of the room, assuring no one would see him.

"Peter, sweetheart. It has been so long... Come on, one drop." Peter, that had entered the circle so sure of himself, was now hesitating on what to do. "I can make you Magnificent again, Peter." Edmund saw how his brother lowered his sword as he stepped behind the frozen wall where the Witch was trapped. "I can make your siblings happy,"  
He could no longer bear listening to her voice and her ridiculous temptations. Taking a breath, he gored his sword into the ice, so mad at her for interrupting the whisper the trees had brought from Ariadne to him with her wickedness. She let out one last scream, and one last invasion to his mind.

_Be careful, Edmund Pevensie. Happiness doesn't last. Not for you._ Then the ice shattered into a million pieces, as if it had been crystal.

Edmund felt himself shake as he tried to regain strength before anyone noticed.

Both Caspian and Peter stared at him in shock. Caspian slowly stood up, recovering from his almost failure. He had known the full story of the Just King, and to see him confront his biggest fear and evil again had made Caspian believe Edmund was the only one who knew what he was doing. A sort of admiration sparked within Caspian, one that he never told him about, but made him trust the king with even his life.

"I know, you had it sorted." Edmund said to Peter as he left. As Edmund sheathed his sword while crossing the room he did not notice the now melted water slither away into the pores of the wall, disappearing if only momentarily, but to return when he least expected it.

Edmund picked up pace as he left, thinking of the Witch's words. The once subtle twinge of guilt in his stomach was now overpowering him completely. Now he felt that if something _was_ to happen to Ariadne it would be his fault.

How did she know about Ariadne? How did she know that she was important to him?

Maybe it was all part of some kind of revenge, but it did not work this time, she would keep on seeking it. He prayed to Aslan that she would not get what she wanted and did not hurt the ones Edmund loved the most.

'_The one left behind,'_ she had said to Caspian. But Edmund couldn't allow that to continue, not if the Witch knew who she was and could harm her. She needed to be close to him now.

Walking in the empty field, his mind finally settled for a decision on what to do.

Narnia would be of the Narnians again: that was the battle he and his siblings fought for Caspian. And Ariadne would be safe: that was the battle he fought for his heart.

He had to go get her. She was now in even more danger than before. Now Miraz seemed like a joke compared to whatever the White Witch and her followers could do. And that she was in that kind of danger had been his fault and no one else's.

So he asked a griffin to take him once more to the Telmarine Castle, without anyone knowing where he went.

[~~~~~~~]

Edmund entered the castle, searching for her in every corner. But the atmosphere felt different.

Entering was not much of a task, almost no guard tried to stop him. That should have alerted him that it wasn't normal, that he was being expected.

He ran through the corridors, hoping to see her dark eyes and hear her voice, but even as he reached what he guessed was her room, he only found a note scattered along the ripped pages of books. He took them; all narrated the Golden Age, but he took the note and saw her slender handwriting.

_I finally know the name of the man who kissed me. Don't worry about me, Edmund, and don't forget me._

He wrinkled the paper inside his palm, angered welling up inside him after realizing he had been too late. Perhaps it had been foolish of him to think she would be there, ready for him to be rescued like a damsel in distress. It was difficult for him to realize that things did not go as he expected them. That was the only thing he had proven time after time.

Edmund left, defeated. Going back alone was pure agony for him, and in his disappointment, he did not realize that a guard had been following, watching what he did.

Now that the guard had collected all the information he needed, he left in the opposite direction, ready to tell King Miraz that the girl was valuable for more than just being Caspian's sister.

Edmund was oblivious of that, just like Ariadne was oblivious about the Witch. None of them knew that the delicate threads of their love affair were being tangled in deeper, darker things. But the sight of danger would only intensify what they felt for each other.


	5. Man-made Madness

**Small author's note****: **  
**Thank you all for the reviews and alerts and favorites, I really can't thank you enough. You're all really lovely people. **  
**To czmieli, yes, you're right! They are bits from Bones :) glad somebody picked on that. **  
**Anyway, I apologize for the time it has taken me to update this, it has been a sort of long week (and I was kind of lazy as well), but here you go loves!**  
**Read and review! **  
**Disclaimer: Lyrics belong to Muse and recognizable work belongs to CS Lewis. **

_Chapter 5_

_Man-made Madness_

_You make me sick_

_Because I adore you so_

_I love all the dirty tricks_

_And twisted games you play_

_On me_

"He was found looking among her belongings, my king," the guard said, reporting the news that somebody had come looking for Ariadne at the castle. "And he found a letter on her desk." he said and Miraz faked surprise.  
"Oh, did he? And why, may I ask," Miraz directed his words towards General Glozelle now, "Why did _he _find a blasted letter when your men had searched her chambers many times before and nothing was found?" the general swallowed.  
"My lord, I assure you, nothing but useless papers were on that room, we searched everywhere and nothing—" Miraz interrupted.

"I do not give a damn about your efforts, Glozelle. What matters is that now that boy has an advantage—the letter could have contained information to weaken us for all we know. All because of your idiocy!" Miraz was red in the face as he shouted to Glozelle. He had stood up from his chair and walked closer to his generals. Every person inside the tent looked shaken.  
"Fetch me the girl," Miraz commanded, his voice lower as he turned back to the table. Glozelle sent his men with a nod of his head. Sopespian intervened for the first time, giving the general and order to leave the tent with a hand wave. Glozelle left and went for Ariadne personally, going out of hearing range soon enough.

Sopespian approached Miraz, who was still looking at the map on the table, as if hoping to make the Narnian army vanish by just looking at the map.  
"My king," he said, gaining Miraz's attention. "I do believe _we_ have the advantage. If the only interest of the Narninas with Ariadne is because she shares the same blood as Caspian, then Caspian would have come himself. Yet, they risked one of those beloved kings and queens of the ancient time. Alas, I believe she is wanted for more than being just Caspian's sister." Miraz considered the idea for a moment.  
"What are you suggesting, Sopespian?"  
"A woman has other kinds of charms, my king. Perhaps one fell into that trap, in the middle of their midnight rendezvous."  
"Well, if there is more interest to her from other parties, then perhaps we have an asset with us."

Glozelle then returned with Ariadne; one of his men holding a blade against her neck. Ariadne held her head high; she may have been imprisoned against her will, but she would not lose her dignity.  
"Tell me Ariadne, who is he exactly?"  
"Pardon me, my lord. There are many _he's _in this room." She clenched her teeth.  
"I am your king, Ariadne, not your lord. But don't play the idiot, you know who I am talking about."  
"Certainly not." she said confidently, Miraz came closer.  
"The boy who wanted to be your knight in shining armor. The one that you left a letter for!" his voice elevated, making Ariadne take a breath to avoid showing her agitation.  
"I don't know who he is," Ariadne said, swallowing heavily and her eyes glued to the ground. Miraz caught her lie soon enough. The guard took the blade away from her neck.  
"Oh, there it is. You care for him. You want to protect him… so foolish." Coming closer to her and taking her face in his hand he turned aggressively to his generals.

"She is a weapon, and her blood will be spilt if it is necessary for them to yield." He let go, jerking her face away.  
"Whether I am dead or not, it will not cause my brother to stop. He wouldn't let Narnia fall on my behalf."  
"But what about your lover, eh?" Miraz asked her as he watched her eyes grow wide. "Would _he _let your life go in the name of the land he abandoned?" Ariadne looked at him sternly, knowing already that it was no use pretending that they did not mean a thing to each other.  
"He did not abandon the land, and he wouldn't let the country two times. I am insignificant to the cause. Kill me here if you must and drench your hands in more of this family's blood."

Ariadne's words made the soldiers and generals stir. She wanted to laugh quietly to herself at their ignorance. He had murdered her father in cold blood, who said he wasn't going to do it again?  
But Miraz did not hesitate a moment and slapped her, a wound opening on her lip, the ring imprinted on her skin. Ariadne regained her strength.  
"But do not doubt for a moment, _usurper, _that Caspian will end victorious. Then, you'll have to pay with your head, whether I am dead or not." Finally, Ariadne spat on his boots, making Miraz even more enraged. He took the dagger from the guard and pressed it against her cheek, a drop of blood scurrying down.  
"You insolent little bitch," Miraz said, Sopespian fought to hide his smile and Glozelle tightened the grip around his sword.  
"Then let it be that way. Let him, your lover, come and your brother try to defeat me." He gashed her cheek. Then he knocked her unconscious and let her fall to the ground miserably.  
"And you'll die in front of their eyes," Ariadne was then taken away; unaware that she was merely a pawn that was to be played by her own feelings.  
"Your grace, if I may, I don't think the people would like to know that their princess has been killed when we return," Glozelle intervened.  
"She isn't a princess any more, General. My son is the heir, and for all the people know, she died at the hands of the savages of the land." Miraz said looking from Ariadne to Glozelle. "Choose which side to ally with wisely." he said before leaving the tent, as the general gazed at the unconscious girl on the floor.

[~~~~~~~]

Ariadne woke up tied to the same post that she had been first attached to when she was taken from the castle. She had become a prisoner of her own people, and to her disgrace, she could not see a way out. She had never meant any of it to become so big; but being the sister of the main rebel and the love interest of a figure of legend weren't small matters.  
There were sounds of metal clashing against metal, and there was a thought of a familiar breath on her neck. She fought against her ties, desperate to find a way out. She let a gasp out when she realized it had been badly wrapped and that her hands were finally free. She struggled to stand up, as a pain extended through her leg from being in the same position for hours.

She stayed next to the opening flaps of the tent, hearing the noise outside. Men were fighting each other, but whether the Narnians were attacking or something else was occurring, she did not know. She scanned the room with her eyes and found the knife that had pierced her cheek previously lying on a table. She took it into her hand, and with the rope that had bound her, she strapped it to her leg.  
She tried looking outside through the smallest cleave between the tent's fabric. No guard was stationed outside; the surrounding area seemed to be clear.

Far away, she saw the Telmarines fighting, though she did not stop to see who they were fighting exactly. Her eyes were attracted to a horse only a few meters away from where she stood, saddled and completely alone. It was too good to be true, she thought; but the thought of getting out was had more power over her. She had angered Miraz and if she didn't leave it could probably mean her death and that of the countless Narnians that fought that war, along with Edmund.

Slowly and carefully she stood outside, and approached the horse trying not to frightening it. After patting its snout trying to soothe it, she mounted it as fast as she could. Then she hurried it, not stopping to look behind, or think about where she was going.

In her attempt of fleeing, she saw the bridge that the Telmarine army was building over the great river, and the deep woods that lay after.

The whispers that had awoken her seemed to run between the leaves of the trees as she sped farther away from the Telmarines. Somehow, they guided her where her heart needed to be. She blindly let her feelings shield her common sense. She was completely unaware of the handful of soldiers behind her tracks, and the dryads whispering to continue forward, seemed to be oblivious too.

At the other side of the deep woods, Edmund stood at the edge, patrolling for the hour. Through the trees he got a glimpse of a horse running near the valley. Whether it had been a random Telmarine guard spying on their camp, he would have gone, but those same whispers that had spoken to her told him to go and to hurry, to catch her. So he went, following the guidance of the spirit of the trees.  
Not long after they were finally in the same space. Both mounted on horses, they saw each other; Ariande rushed her horse as Edmund halted, letting her reach him. Ariadne felt relieved, she had found him after all. What he felt in the moment he saw her was beyond description; his lover was finally in front of his eyes, alive and complete.

He then dismounted and went to her and helped her down the horse. Her breath was agitated from the chase, and his was ragged as he took her face into hers, all his fears and guilt dissipating.  
Her face had traces of the struggles she had gone through. He couldn't bare imagine anything without wanting to gut anyone who was responsible. He made himself promise that each cut and bruise she had he would mend somehow.

Not a moment was spared for words, and instead communicated in the language they preferred. His hands held her hips, hers entwined in his hair while their lips moved against each other, finally comforted in the arms of the lovers reencountered.

"I won't leave you again," he managed to say when he pulled her lips away from hers.  
"I don't want you to," Ariadne said, both of their words full of the passion they had cultivated while they had been apart. They kissed again, not wanting to have so much distance separating them. They had grown feelings that could melt worlds away if they had wanted to, their desire had become mortal and they knew it perfectly well. They had a time bomb between them, the fuse was their love.  
He let his finger caress the cut on her cheek, and felt repulsed to anyone that had harmed her.  
"No one will hurt you again, I promise."  
"I know," she said, taking his hand and kissing his palm, "I won't let them,"  
"Nor I," he kissed her again.  
"I would have never thought you'd make me this mad for you. I am nothing but a fool when I am with you. You've done something to me, Ariadne." He said as he kissed her cheek, making his way to her lips again.

"The same thing you have done to me, Just king." She said, looking into his eyes, pulling his face closer. Their noses were brushing, and her hand was at the back of his neck. Then she kissed him with the passion like the first time. His hand crept up the cleavage of her dress, while hers stayed in his chest. As their lips danced together, both felt a deep ache for each other in their souls.  
If it had been for him, she would have been his in that moment, but he remembered it wasn't the proper time, and she certainly did not deserve that. Instead, he took her hand and he realized that she was his only weakness, and therefore could never let her go.  
"Aren't you scared? Now that you know who I am."

She would have wanted to ask countless questions that had gathered with time, but she knew there would be time for that later, to uncover who he really was. Now, the only thing that mattered was that they were finally together.

"No, Edmund. The legends were quite flattering and didn't stick to the truth, I think." She said, smirking.  
"Oh didn't they?" he asked teasingly. "Why not, Ariadne? I am better than they portray me?" he laughed softly.  
"Oh no, quite the contrary. Your arrogance proceeds you,"  
"Aren't you mistaking for my brother?"  
"Not your brother, but maybe I am a poor judge of character,"  
"Perhaps, but you'll be able to judge by yourself," he said with a final teasing kiss.  
"Then let's not waste any time, Edmund Pevensie." taking that as his permission to return to the army with her, he brought the horse closer to help her into the saddle.

But it seemed that things never went the way they should for them.

An arrow landed on tree, startling both of them. Ariadne's fear returned and Edmund drew his sword out.  
Of course Ariadne's escape had been too quick, to perfect and easy for it to be true. The guards that had been following her showed themselves with Miraz himself behind. Another appeared behind Edmund's back, calling his attention for another man to grab Ariadne. Ariadne wasn't quick or clever enough in that moment, and succumbed fight between Edmund and the Telmarine stopped when she heard her trying to suppress a scream.

A blade was pointed to her stomach; the third of the last two days for her. Edmund could see how her dress sank in folds as it pushed against her belly. Her hair was held by the same man, making any move impossible. Edmund dropped his sword to the ground before they could hurt her more.  
"So lovely to have seen your little scene, you pair of fools," Sopespian said. "Oh, and Ariadne darling, thank you for leading us to them. See, it wasn't that hard, was it?" Miraz commanded for the guard's grip on Ariadne to soften.

"Very well then king, we wish to make a pact. You surrender fully and your little lover lives. You stop the battle for the crown and we let you be at peace, in these dark, disgusting woods. If you don't, well…" Ariadne shouted in pain again. Edmund looked at the sword at his feet. If only he could grab it without their attention drawn to him.

"Don't," Ariadne muttered in a shaggy breath.  
"Now, now, think about it boy. Hundreds of lives spared, if you only agree." Sopespian nodded and once more the guard pushed the knife to Ariadne's stomach. Edmund had to think quickly. Sopespian turned to the clearing beside as Telmarine troops marched into the valley.  
"See that? They will crush your excuse for an army." Edmund looked, as did the rest.  
"Then, make your decision." Sopespian insisted, and Edmund nodded.  
"We yield," he said. Sopespian commanded Ariadne to be thrown at him while he laughed.  
"Love is weakness." As he turned, Edmund picked his sword and fought those closest to him. Ariadne behind wasn't free for even a second. Someone took her again and this time stabbed her stomach. She lost equilibrium and fell to the ground several times before standing up with difficulty while Edmund fought. Sopespian made his best soldier take her on a horse away from anywhere they knew as he took the other horse for himself.  
One by one became defeated by the best swords-man in Narnia, but as he fought the last standing man, he heard a horse galloping away.  
"You did this to your own, boy." was what Sopespian shouted before fleeing like a coward. A wolf, a centaur and a tiger appeared behind him to aid, but it was too late now. Ariadne had slipped from his fingers yet again, now with a battle coming on their way.  
He took the bloodied knife from the floor, knowing then that she was injured. She was gone again, and under his full attention. He threw it as far as he could, thinking about her eyes and all the times he had seen and lost them. It seemed they weren't meant to have peace.


	6. Self Made Cages

_Chapter 6_

_Self-made Cages_

**Hello again :)** **sorry for the lack of an update, but the truth is I don't have an excuse this time. But I promise that next chapter will be up quicker, and will be more interesting. Sadly this is a bit movie-based, but I do hope you enjoy either way. **  
**Read and review lovely people from the internet! **

Ariadne took a while to make her pain bearable as the guard held her for him to be able to ride the horse. She moved slightly trying not to alert him or make herself screech in pain. She looked at his belt and found a dagger and knew she had to take it.  
She was sitting sideways in front of the guard and behaved as if she was unconscious. She took a breath trying to minimize the pain and placed one hand on the dagger and the other on his chest. She quickly retrieved it and then pushed him aside. The fall wasn't hard and allowed him to recover quickly as Ariadne desperately tried to hold the reins and rush the horse. The guard took the crossbow from his back and took aim. Ariadne went faster and faster, going in different directions instead of a straight line.

The guard shot, the arrow flew through the air barely reaching its target. Ariadne was hit in the thigh. Yet another wound to endure. But she kept on fighting and went out of sight of the guard by pure luck.

She spurred the horse but it just came to the point where she could no longer sit and breathe at the same time; it felt like the stab wound had gone deeper. She tried slowing the horse down and without it completely stopping, she threw herself down. Her legs failed her and landed on the ground. Her leg felt numb as she tried standing up. She leaned against a tree and looked at the buried arrow on her flesh.

With a yell she took it out and tried to reuse her leg. Each step felt like small piece of hell.  
She heard other horses and shrieks of other men near, so she tried running as best she could. She lost them like it was a miracle, but the pain was just too much. She ended on the forest floor, her mind slipping in and out of consciousness. Now everything felt like a dream. She crawled her way to a small creek she saw near. She thought perhaps that led to the great river where the Telmarine camp was. It gave her more chances to be found whether by guards that would end her agony, or by her lover. By then she did not really care which found her first.

She didn't reach the water but lay beside it. As her eyes closed from all the blood she had lost through her stomach, she pictured herself standing in the middle of the camp, trying to find a way out in case she ever found herself there. But it seemed she would never go back, she would not survive. That was her death bed, and of all the faces she had last wanted to see, it would have been him. Him, the Dark King who had made her fall under a love spell on the smallest amount of time.  
Before falling into darkness, she heard herself muttering '_Help me, Edmund. I need you here.' _ But the dryads weren't going to help her this time.

[~~~~~~~~~~~~~~]

Edmund entered the How after accepting his defeat; he had tried tracing the guard that took Ariadne away unsuccessfully. Now he had to prepare himself emotionally for the explanation of the events he owed to Caspian and his siblings. She was in mortal peril and it was his fault.

He would have expected them to be scattered around the how, but it seemed they had noticed the troops outside their door and wanted to make plans, all gathered around a table.  
"We need a plan, Ed." Susan said as he entered. Peter answered before his brother could.  
"What is there left to plan, Susan!?" Peter turned to his sister, "We are completely surrounded, and have no chances of winning."  
"I did a headcount. They outnumber us by roughly two thousand men." Edmund said, trying to talk as if he had just been out for a walk. He hoped nobody would notice how long he had been gone, or his true feelings showing in his eyes. Or at least not yet, when everyone was present.  
"We mustn't give up, your majesty." Trufflehunter said.  
"We need a miracle," Peter gulped. There were several sighs of defeat before Lucy broke the silence  
"I saw Aslan in my sleep yesterday." Everyone turned, but some did not think those were precisely good news. "He told me to find him. He said he was where I saw him first, at the gorge, you remember?" she turned to Edmund, he nodded. "He said he would always be there if we needed him, but we had to look."  
"We've been looking Lucy, and he hasn't come." said Peter.  
"But this time we'll actually be looking for him. He will help us, I know it."  
Peter agreed to let Lucy go to the forest, but not for the same reasons that she wanted to go. He knew it was certain that the battle was lost, and it would be better to have Lucy as far from the battle field as possible.  
"And he said something about you Edmund. He said that you did not have to be so hard on yourself and something about a woman too, but I don't remember. I think he is meant to tell you himself."  
"Fine, Lu. We do need every bit of help we can get." Edmund responded her, trying not to show how important her words were. Lucy smiled, but Trumpkin exploded.  
"So that's your plan?! Sending a little girl into the darkest parts of the forest while we just wait for our deaths?" Peter remained silent.  
"You heard your brother, did you not? We are brutally outnumbered, how can we make her go alone into the woods hoping that a ray of divine light will appear and help us but still risking her to die! It's madness!" the dwarf barked, is hands beating the empty air in front of him.  
"We are not sending Lucy out just to find us some miracle." Susan replied. "We are sending her because she needs to get as farther away from here as she can." The dwarf groaned in response.  
"Hey!" Lucy said, "Even if odds aren't in our favor, there is always faith, and you seem to have lost it. How can you try and fight if you don't have hope?" she breathed and then continued. "I am going to find Aslan. I'm not crazy Trumpkin, I know he is out there, but I've got to find him. And I'm not stupid, no Telmarines will find me."  
The dwarf had his brows furrowed in worry.  
"But..." he tried to retort, but words escaped him.  
"Our best chance is to hold them off, until she returns." Edmund then intervened. He trusted Lucy more than he trusted anyone else. Things had gotten way out of hand; they needed Aslan's aid. Perhaps he was the only one that could save Ariadne, especially when Aslan had mentioned her to Lucy.  
"And she won't be going on her own," Susan said, standing up. Caspian stood up then as well, scared for her safety. Peter nodded in gratitude.  
"But how are we going to do that, eh? They have catapults! What is there to do that can overpower that?"  
"Well..." Caspian started, thinking about something of importance to say. "Miraz may be a tyrant, but he does have to keep some traditions, especially if he has to prove himself to his army. He can't refuse to this." He approached the center of the room, looking at everyone present. "We offer complete surrender after a one person battle that'll save countless lives. It would just be him and one of ours, and that way it is decided who wins and who does not. But we need to secure a way for him to keep his promise."  
Edmund did not hesitate for a moment.  
"I'll go to your uncle, I'll tell him about our terms." Edmund had the perfect excuse to go back to their camp and search for his beloved there. "Besides, I need to settle some other matters myself," Edmund's words escaped his lips before he could help it. Caspian's eyes flared with curiosity for his words.  
After everyone agreed, and started leaving, Peter approached Edmund.  
"Hey, you okay, Ed?" Peter said, moving closer to him so nobody else would hear; concern in his voice. He knew something was bugging Edmund, and he wished to know what that was.  
"Yes," he replied dryly. He wanted to avoid the questioning of his brother. If it was already hard enough to explain the events to Caspian; it would be even harder to tell his older brother that little Ed had finally found a girl. But Peter did not seem to let Edmund slither away in his secrecy again, and Edmund resigned.  
"Later," Edmund muttered in defeat  
Strong emotions were hiding behind his brother's eyes, but it also told them not to talk about them and leave him be. Consenting to his brother's wishes, he said:  
"Well then," and then looked at the rest of the Narnians in the room. "We'd best get moving, we've got to get the army ready." All followed Peter outside, until it was just Edmund and Caspian inside the room.

Edmund braced himself to tell the full tale.

"There will be another condition for them," Edmund decided to start that way.  
"Which is that?"  
"We ask for total surrender as we agreed, but if it is them who lose, then the release of Ariadne is granted."  
"How do you her name?" Caspian asked confused.  
"I know her, I've spoken to her and...I'm sorry to have kept this information from you so long,"  
"Is she not at the castle?" Caspian asked trying to piece the puzzle back together.  
"She was, but now she isn't. T-they've—l" Edmund started, stammering on his words.  
"Is she hurt?" Caspian asked hurriedly.  
"She..." Edmund discovered he felt repulsed to even state what the Telmarines had done. Edmund knew he had to pull himself together. Caspian did not have to know about his feelings; he only needed to state the facts for him to know that she was in danger.  
"I did, just this morning... they harmed her, but she went out of my sight before I even had proper time to fight all of the soldiers. I tried following them but lost their trails," Edmund knew it was best to be sincere.  
Caspian felt a wound reopening in his heart for her sister that had been left behind. "Do you mean you've seen her several times?" Caspian questioned. Edmund nodded slightly with his head and immediately started talking again, trying to quickly defend his actions.  
"But I did not know who she was until after the night raid, and today I _was_ going to bring her here. She just appeared alone in the woods and I thought we had a bit of time to spare, but it was a trap. They used her to find us and then they took her."  
"But you're certain she is out there, somewhere?"  
"I don't know where, but we need to get to her as soon as possible. One stabbed her." Edmund paused and gave the opportunity to Caspian for him to speak again, but remained silent. By now it was obvious that Edmund cared for his sister more than any other common person would. The word love popped inside his head.  
"I need to go to Miraz myself, look for as many clues of Ariadne as I can." Caspian meditated on Edmund's words.  
He remembered her, and knew she would have his head if he asked any questions about the affair he suspected Edmund and she seemed to be having. He wanted to smile at her memory. Then the thought of Edmund and his little sister would have angered him as was his duty of the older brother, but then he remembered Susan and himself and how Edmund did not say anything. Whether there was love between them or not, the only thing that mattered was that Ariadne was in the midst of a battle that wasn't hers to fight.  
"I just need to make sure she is well,"  
As Edmund went away Caspian hoped to Aslan that Ariadne was not dead, that was the best he could do.

[~~~~~~~]

Glenstorm insisted on accompanying his king to the Telmarine camp. The same soldiers that had gone to his aid some hours before went with him as well. He did not want to go in plain sight through the valley, not wanting to give the Telmarines the opportunity for a clean shot with a crossbow. He spared several moment for any sign of Ariadne. A scream, a splatter of blood or her voice through the wind, none were there. He walked on, entering the camp.  
The guards at the entrance told him to leave his Narnian escort behind if he wanted to speak with the king while they pressed a sword at their necks. Without much of a choice, Edmund obliged and followed them inside.  
"I see you have returned with your beasts, _king." _Miraz said sarcastically as he poured a cup of wine for himself, his back facing Edmund. The rest of the Telmarine lords were sitting around him, like a council. "So, tell me, why have you come and left your army when we are at the brink of war?" Miraz genuinely thought he had already won; it showed in his tone.  
"I have come, _Lord_ Miraz to make a proposal," Edmund trailed off. His eyes went beyond the table in front of him. The figure of a woman showed up. He recognized her black hair falling over her hips, the blue dress she had seen her last outstanding between the sea of dark gray dressed soldiers. She looked scared and lost, with her hand on her stomach over a bleeding wound. Edmund was about to sprint towards her when he blinked and she vanished.  
"Is there something you lost?" Miraz kept the monotone, ever so sarcastic. Edmund looked at him with hatred; the illusion of Ariadne's figure gone like it had only been a ghost of his memory. Then Miraz laughed. "She is not here, boy. I did not keep her here, you see, she has fulfilled her purpose. We have found your camp thanks to her lead." Edmund had to think about what he held dearest in both worlds to avoid slaying him right in that second.  
"You see, Miraz, I came to bargain something, not to endure your arrogance." Edmund then looked at every single man sitting around Miraz. "I offer the opportunity to spare battle bloodshed. A fight. A single duel between a Narnian leader and yourself. The reward is total surrender of the losing side upon defeat."  
Miraz kept the silence as he pressed a finger to his lobe, thinking. "Fair request you make, boy." Sopespian said. Before Edmund retorted, Miraz spoke again. "However, they are not your words."  
Edmund agreed. "Here are mine. You have taken away something, and I want her back." Edmund took a step closer. "If you lose, then Ariadne is free and none of you trouble her furthermore. Then will consider sparing your life only if she is well. She doesn't have to suffer in the sake of this battle. Those are _my _terms."  
"You may think she is innocent boy, let me tell you, she is everything but that. You think of her much stupider than what she really is."  
"Is that consent?"  
"I have not said yes."  
"What? Are you scared you might lose? How awful it would be for you to be a coward in the end," Edmund sneered, Miraz kept his silence.  
"My lord, of course every member of the council would understand if you refuse and will stand behind you no matter what," one of the members sitting around him said.  
"I am not refusing." He spat.  
He turned to Edmund. "I hope your sword is sharper than your pen."  
"Excellent," Edmund answered, turning on his heel.  
Before Edmund left, Miraz said: "I will be expecting to fight you, boy king. Only that way we'll settle debts. Otherwise your terms don't apply."  
"I shall fight you Miraz, don't doubt it." If that was what it took to take her back then he would do it. He would fight for both Narnia and Ariadne.


	7. Soulless Curses

_Chapter 7_

_Soulless Curses_

Edmund adjusted the belt tighter to his hip, added a knife and checked the two shoulder plates of armor he had on. He had been repeating those same actions for as much time as he could spare, trying to avoid any comments regarding the upcoming fight.  
"Let's get out of this together, deal?" Susan approached Edmund to say goodbye. He nodded idly, knowing that they would. But...what good was it to get out of danger if she, Ariadne, was lost to him?  
"Of course we will, Su." Edmund said trying to shield his confusing feelings and acting like he always did.

Then Lucy walked in behind Susan with a much more relaxed demeanor. He approached her brother without speaking any words. A simple hug sufficed to say all what they needed; Lucy knew too something else was going on inside Edmund's mind, but instead on pressing him to tell everything, she simply squeezed him harder.

Then she let go and looked at him in the eye and smiled. Lucy turned away knowing that everything would be okay in each of their personal definitions of the word.

Edmund stayed in the room instead of seeing his sisters to the entrance, sharpening his sword; but Caspian followed both girls out with the excuse of giving his own personal horse to them.

When they mounted, he secured even the smallest detail regarding the animal, spending as much time as he could.  
"Before you leave, I need to ask something of you," Caspian mumbled, "If you see my sister, Ariadne, please take her with you," it was the only plea he had made since the rebellion had begun.  
"Of course," Susan responded. Caspian looked back in precaution and then focused on the girls.  
"Edmund would appreciate it too, he would regain his senses." At this Lucy giggled innocently.  
"Edmund is never in his senses," she said, making Susan laugh as well. "But we will, Caspian, don't worry. And even if we don't find her she'll be okay." Lucy assured him. Caspian gave her one last smile before saying his final goodbye words to them.

Edmund heard the hooves of the horse landing on the ground and rising rhythmically. Now that Susan and Lucy were gone, Edmund prepared himself to leave, with Caspian at his side.  
"You are _helping _me with the war, you don't need to win it _for _me. You don't need to fight him, Edmund." Caspian reminded him.  
"It doesn't matter. We are all fighting for the same cause. And it is the bargain I made with Miraz." He replied simply and Caspian suddenly looked sad.  
"Because of my sister?"  
"Yes," Edmund replied neutrally, without any sign of emotion. Caspian was left with no words.  
They walked in silence, Peter joining them.  
It was until sunlight hit their faces as they exited the How that Caspian spoke again.  
"You should know that he does not fight with honor,"  
"I didn't expect him to," Edmund replied, taking his helmet in his arm. Caspian handed the sword to him, pulling it out of its sheath.  
The roars of the army as they walked past encouraged Edmund's spirit.

At the other side of the stone monument were the Telmarines. Miraz and his lackeys. All the enemies he had made were there, except for Glozelle. He wondered for a moment if he was in charge of guarding Ariande back in their camp. If he weren't the one fighting he would go in search for Glozelle, but it was his pride and stupid need to save Ariadne in a heroic way that made him speak more to Miraz than he should have. It wasn't his forte to be the center of attention, and he knew it.

Edmund regained himself and stood in front of Miraz, with the place where the fight was going to take place between them. Miraz stood up from the luxurious chair that had been brought up to him. Edmund took his sword out and had it ready at his side.  
"I see you have held up to your bargain, king. I honestly thought of you as a coward."  
"Is she with you?" Edmund pronounced carefully, not bothering himself with formalities.  
"Maybe she is, maybe she isn't."  
"So you have not kept up to the agreed terms."  
"Ah, but I never promised she would be here." Edmund breathed in, spiking up in alarm.  
By this point they had started circling each other, guarding themselves from each other's moves. Yet, Miraz wasn't even properly armed.  
To the public in both sides it seemed they were more at each others' throats for more personal rather than political reasons.  
"I hope you know what you're risking here, boy. And only for the love of _one_ woman." Miraz said, finally drawing his sword out. Edmund braced himself for the first blow. Now he knew he needn't fight with honor.

Edmund returned the hit with even more strength, but Miraz's shield blocked it easily. Miraz swung his sword and Edmund barely escaped it, tyring to make sure his head remained on his shoulders.  
Peter saw how precipitated had been his brother's thirst to start the battle and hadn't even taken his shield nor helmet. So Peter threw the shield at his feet, hitting his ankle. Edmund blocked Miraz's sword with his own in the right side of his face as he tried getting the shield with his free arm. He took it but did not pass his wrist through the leather belts. He remembered it was better to be quick than to have a complete, full and heavy armor, even if Peter never understood it.  
He hit Miraz on the face with it, making his helmet fly away. He groaned and gave Edmund the opportunity to strike him; his sword gashed his thing, at which he fell to the ground.  
Miraz turned to look at his men, one of which held a crossbow, as if expecting one of them to do something. Peter and Caspian could only clench their fists in tension, even though Edmund was winning for the time being. Caspian considered the present events; Edmund was fighitng for his crown and for the love he bore his sister, while he was just standing there, watching. The least he could do in return was to look for Susan and Lucy, ensure their safe passage and look for Ariadne.  
He mounted the horse next to him.  
"Where are you going!?" Peter shouted over the noise of the battle.  
"Making sure your sisters are safe!" He replied in screams as he galloped away. This distracted Edmund from the battle; Miraz's sword crossed his forearm in consequence. Miraz dug deeper and as Edmund groaned in pain, he punched Miraz, making him back away.  
Edmund realized he wanted her to be safe and by his side. But as he felt the stinging pain of the cut, he wondered what would happen if he was the one not to see another day. He decided he would keep fighting, as much as he could. That way Edmund regained his strength.

He hit Miraz behind the knee, not to make a cut, but to throw him on the ground. Edmund kicked the fallen sword away from his grasp, but before he could do anything Miraz surprised him. Edmund found himself with a dagger near his ear, which he tried to hold with his hands, only leather gloves protecting him from the blade.

Edmund kept his injured arm folded at his chest, avoiding the pain while Miraz balanced his weight on his other leg. Both were wounded, but not mortally so.  
For how long could they continue?

[~~~~~~~~~~~~~~]

Glozelle followed the injured lady that sat on her horse. _Make sure she does not survive. _Thos were his commands. He wasn't sure he wanted to oblige to them.  
The knife he had on his hand was going to make sure the princess he had once swore to protect above everything was dead. It created a mess in his head. So, in the end, where did his loyalty lie?  
The trail he had been following disappeared between the fallen leaves, and as he looked up to look for any sign of her he realized where he was. Those parts of the woods were cursed, if the whole of them were supposed to be enchanted, this part even more so.  
He thought about not continuing, but with a bit of courage, he walked on. He thought the trees looked odd and had voices whispering to him. Then he remembered the tales he had grown up with. These domains had always been part of dark forces, of black magic. No, he did like where the girl was going, but she couldn't know better, she was wounded.  
Finally, Glozelle spotted her.  
Besides the flowing water she was sprawled, her eyes closed, her horse behind some trees. He drew near and took her pulse from her neck. Nothing.  
She was lying on a puddle of her own blood, and her horse was bloody too. Of course she wouldn't survive such a thing. He thought she was dead, but he needed to be completely sure of it. He placed the knife on her neck, ready to slit her throat, but he couldn't bring himself to do the task.  
It wasn't her fault what had happened to her, and either way, she was dead, he was certain. There was no use in maiming her deceased body.  
Conflicted with himself, he took her wrist and measured her pulse once more. There was none. Fearing the woods, Miraz's wrath if she lived and finally his own emotional conflict in slaying the person he considered his princess, he threw her hand instead of placing it at her side.  
The tip of her fingers touched the silent water of the creek that formed from the main river. He looked at her, saddened because of the way she had died.  
"Rest in peace, princess." he said, standing up and turning away. He took her horse to return, with his head bowed down.

The gentle touch of the water against Ariadne's hand stirred her from her drowse a bit. Her breathing was uneven, and as she slowly regained consciousness, absolute pain blinded her from everything else. She turned on her side, both legs immersed in the current of the creek, her blood scurrying down to the water.  
In that moment her blood combined with the crystalline water. Like an act of magic, this brought life to her for a moment, and with a terrible condition as a burden.  
On that water other things meddled, spells of dark magic that could only be done and undone with human blood. A life that was given is a life that is taken away. And, it only took one drop of this daughter of eve to bring her life, and Ariadne gave quite a lot of it, unintentionally.  
Her eyes closed, feeling the little life that remained within her being snatched away. Her eyes closed and fell into profound sleep, and her memory retained nothing of what was happening. And so she slept, but she didn't leave Edmund out of her mind even then.  
But as the Witch saw inside her mind, she knew that she had hit a prize that was bigger than gold or any other glory.

[~~~~~~~~~~~~~~]

A hit. A block. Another blow.  
That was how it had been since Caspian left and found no difference as he returned with Susan behind him. Edmund saw with the corner of his eye only the shadow of a woman behind Caspian. Both Edmund and Miraz were distracted. But Edmund was quicker.  
He disarmed Miraz: his sword flung to his side. Edmund knew it was the time to make the final blow, but instead he only stayed with his sword up in the air.  
Miraz raised his hands in surrender.  
"Respite! Respite!" he cried. Edmund conceded, feeling his own wounds, but more than that, feeling his heart quickening at the possibility of seeing his love. If she was alive and well, then he would consider letting the Telmarine leader live.

Miraz slouched on his chair as Edmund walked back, only sparing an insignificant glance at his gashed arm. Then he saw that she wasn't there. Susan had been the one on his horse.  
"Lucy?" Peter asked.  
"She made it through,"  
"Thank you," Edmund told him, short of breath.  
"The least I could do to repay." Edmund nodded to him.  
"Did you see her?" Edmund asked as he took a wet cloth to take care of his cuts.  
"No, there wasn't any sign." Caspian said, ashamed.  
Maybe they would both be dead by the end of the day, Edmund considered.

A rider came next to Miraz and whispered something in his ear. Edmund read her name in his lips. Miraz smiled next. Edmund stood, suddenly not caring about his injuries. Miraz followed him, ready for combat once more.  
"Spare yourself, boy. Your bitch isn't going to be with you. If you want her then you'll have to look for her, not fight a battle she will never know of. Go on, you can still surrender." Edmund struck him harder than ever before as a response, and Miraz seemed to weaken by the second, his eyes screaming in fear of death.  
There, he was disarmed again. And this time with Edmund's sword buried at his side.  
His eyes shifted to focus on something that was far away as he sunk to his knees and waited for the final strike. Edmund took his sword out.  
"Come on, or are you too scared to take my life?"  
"I don't get to decide that," Edmund stepped aside and looked at Caspian. He stepped forward. He took the sword in his hand.  
"Perhaps you won't make a bad king, after all. Telmarine legacy runs through your veins." Caspian had tears of anger in his eyes, shouted as much as he throat allowed him as he raised the sword. But it didn't land on his head. It stuck on the ground between stone and soil.  
"But not the same legacy that you carry," Then Caspian walked away to his troops, hoping the nightmare was over. Life is was gift, but it could also be a curse. That was clear in his head.

Miraz turned to the people he trusted, now that he was defeated. Sopespian approached him as if to help him, and upon looking into his eyes, Miraz realized that he was too only a pawn in the middle of a game of power, just like he had made of Ariande. An arrow marked his death; an arrow that had been taken from the Narnians, from Susan's bow.  
"THEY ATTACKED OUR KING! THEY HAVE BROKEN THEIR TREATY! TELMAR, PREPARE TO ATTACK!" Sopespian shouted as he galloped back to their troops, after Miraz had fallen to the ground.  
Edmund's heart fell. It all had been for nothing.  
He and Peter turned to Caspian that was already going inside the How to execute their plan. Catapults smashed around them, as their minds counted to ten to attack.  
Edmund knew there wasn't any time to waste; he had to go to her.  
1, 2, 3, 4. Their horses were approaching. Edmund had his sword raised as Peter counted down still.  
5, 6, 7. Narnian arrows flew through the sky and landed in the chests and heads of the soldiers, leaving horses rider-less.  
8, 9, 10. The ground starting opening beneath the Telmarine's feet. Caspian appeared from the breaches in the soil with other Narnians, attacking the enemies from their rear. Many fell into the ditch, but half managed to stop before their horses fell. There was another storm of arrows, and the soldiers that were climbing out fell again. Only horses managed to escape, horses that started fleeing close to Edmund. He did not dismiss the chance and mounted as it tried to run away.  
"Charge!" Peter shouted as Edmund ran with his horse to encounter the battle. Taking the crossbow attached to the saddle of the horse, he shot opposing soldiers.  
He passed next to Caspian who spared a small glance at him. Both nodded at each other, knowing that Edmund was going to leave the battle field for his sister.  
Edmund knew it was safe to leave in that instant, knowing that the Narnians had the upper hand for the moment. Both Caspian and Edmund wished Ariadne was mounted on that horse too, getting away from harm instead of staying in its way.

Edmund went the opposite direction where the rest of the Telmarine soldiers awaited orders, entering the thickness of the woods. He soon found the river and saw one or two soldiers that had stayed behind, and before any of them could attack him, arrows went through their backs.

Edmund followed along the side of the river, not really knowing where he was going. Ariadne wasn't in the camp, that much was clear.  
He hurried his horse further, hoping she was near.

As he advanced he felt the wood darkening, and it was all too familiar. The whispers of the trees returned, carrying her voice with them, but it sounded distorted. Edmund did not like the location whatsoever.

He dismounted the horse and followed the sound, his footsteps soon becoming a jog.  
Soon the river parted ways and the amount of water diminished. Edmund followed the trial of boots and hooves in the mud. He advanced and saw that the water wasn't flowing normally. The temperature dropped, the sun didn't shine through the top of the trees. The water then turned into a thin ice cap, some parts pink instead of pure white. He followed it with his eyes and saw a trial of blood coming from a puddle, scarlet in the snow.

Concealed behind shrubbery, he found the last face he wanted to see in those conditions. Edmund sprinted towards Ariadne and knelt beside her, not caring about the chunks of ice digging into his knees.

Edmund took in her appearance: her lips were pale and almost blue, her dress was soaked and covered in blood. He knew it was dark magic's doing, but he was desperate. He did not know how to stop it, not a third time.

Edmund did not see any sorcerer near, he did not know where the enchantment was being performed, then how could he stop it? But he knew perfectly well who's doing it was.  
If she was back to haunt him then fine, but Ariadne should not have to be a part of it.

He stood and drew his sword out, the sword that was covered in magic. It had been the same with which he had broken the witch's wand on The Battle of Beruna and only a few nights ago. If it broke her magic once, it could do it again.  
"Leave her be! Any quarrel you have, fight it with me, not with others. Face me Witch!" he shouted, as he buried the sword in the frozen water, and it started melting.  
But before he could breathe again he heard that horrible laugh.  
_Too late boy, it's too late for her, and for you. Don't worry, you'll get your fight. Soon._  
A cold shudder went through his body, and took a while to regain himself. A fight she would have. It was about time that Witch was gone, and for good.  
He went back to Ariadne after his sword disappeared into the water from sight. He whispered her name into her ear and took her hand into his.  
There was no response, except for the faintest of respirations. He hoped with all his heart the Witch's harm hadn't been that profound.  
He removed the hair from her face and said her name again. He held her in his chest, as the scenery around him began to change. Light shined and the trees breathed once more.  
Somehow he knew it was Lucy's doing. He brightened a bit, thinking that Ariadne could have a drop of the fire lily and she would awaken. Then he heard Aslan's roar through the trees and hoped found a way into him again.

"Edmund," she said in a voice that did not sound very much like hers. Then her eyes opened a second. But as Edmund looked, they weren't their usual black color; they were a hideous tone of blue. Edmund became horrified.  
"Ariadne," he said, louder this time.  
Ariadne blinked, her eyes turning normal again. When their eyes found each other, he knew it was her again.  
Ariadne wrapped her arms around Edmund's neck.  
"I'm so sorry, I never meant any of this—" Ariadne stopped, gasping at the pain of her stomach. They separated and Edmund looked as she placed her hand, soaking it in blood. Edmund took it.  
"It doesn't matter, you didn't know." Ariande looked confused, and Edmund guessed she had no idea of the spell. "You're safe now," he said. He knew they needed to get out of there, return to the Narnians.

Edmund tried to carry her, but the deep cut Miraz left him did not allow him to do so.  
"You're hurt," Ariadne whispered bending to see his wound closely. She ran a finger through it. Edmund did not even gasp for he was busy looking at her intently. It was clear she didn't know of the Witch. And right now, she was gone from her. Edmund then convinced himself that he wouldn't allow that.  
She looked at him and he stared into his eyes, and immersed in them completely. That boy, the one she had only known for the smallest time and who she knew almost nothing about, had her madly in love. The same was true for him too.  
"It seems to me we're both hurt, then we both shall stay here," Ariadne continued with all her effort. She started closing her eyes.  
"Stay with me," Edmund pleaded.  
Ariadne, trying to seize her pain welling up in her heart at the thought of death, hugged him closer as she replied to him, her words dragging with each syllable.  
"Don't let me go,"  
"I wouldn't dream of it," he replied, speaking to her like she had just been sleeping and nothing more. He kissed her forehead.

Ariadne looked at the sky and Edmund just gazed at her face. He would do anything to make her safe and well again. He turned searching for Lucy, or anyone that could take her to his sister.  
How much he wished he could have his own healing cordial.  
Ariadne moaned.  
"The pain will pass," Edmund told her,  
"I don't mind that now," Ariadne looked at his face, and saw that he was biting his lip. He touched it, easing him.  
"It can't end here," she said, speaking what she thought would be fair. Edmund knew she was right, they had to get another chance. War and pain shaped their relationship, but now that they were so close to freedom, it had to get better. There was no other way.

Every minute and every second that passed, Edmund felt it lasted forever. Ariadne opened and closed her eyes, and remained closed for longer periods of time. He knew she couldn't resist much longer.

She closed them again, and her eye did not even move beneath her eyelids. Edmund bent to kiss her lips lightly trying to awaken her, but when he looked she was still asleep.

There were roars of water behind him, and a large splash in the river upwards. In the small creek that had now cleared up from the dark magic, helmets and weapons of the Telmarines were dragged. But the current also brought a familiar bottle. A naiad held it in her open palm; Edmund stood to get it and opened it.  
"Queen Lucy sends this," Edmund nodded in gratitude.  
"Thank you, both." Edmund said sincerely.  
Edmund inclined the vase into her mouth, one drop entering her lips. He waited a few moments, but nothing happened. He only wished it was not too late.

Wind passed through the trees and leaves, the current on the creek sped.  
That was all the time it took Ariadne to breathe again, and took her first breath as if she had been drowning.

Ariadne smiled, her lips became full and hydrated again, her eyes filling with light and her body with strength.  
"My love," Ariadne said and did not let time waste and captured his lips in hers.  
Edmund smiled, as he felt the kiss, know that she was well now and that she was herself completely. "I told you I would not let you go." Ariadne laughed.

His lips played with hers slowly, tasting them again. As he toyed with them he knew that this was that chance. If only the evil that had been constructed with her blood could be undone. But he would protect her, and he started that by not mentioning the spell that had been done with her own blood, at least for the moment.

He wanted to believe everything would be okay now, truly.

**A/N: Hey again! Sorry, I've only realized I didn't leave a note for this chapter.**

**As usual my deepest thanks go to the lovely reviewers and favorites and alerts and all of that. You know I love you.**

**Any way, this is my longest chapter so far and I hope you guys like it...it was a bit dramatic and more problems came to light, but next chapters will be more light hearted, I promise.**

**Well, as always, read and review!**


	8. Escaping the Day

Chapter 8

_Escaping the Day_

**Hi :) Since I yet again beat my record without publishing a chapter, I'm not going to say anything about that because there is absolutely no excuse.**

**I like this chapter better than last one so I hope you guys do as well…it took me some time to make it nice and clean, so I hope it meets expectations. Aaand, as promised, there is more romance, and it is a happier environment for all the involved characters. **

**As always, enjoy, read and review!**

The only thing clear on Edmund's head was that they needed to leave the place as soon as possible. His thoughts were a fumbled mess of the joy because of Ariadne being alright and by his side, but safety was a priority.

He followed that trail of helmets and weapons, knowing that the Telmarine compound was near. From there, they could go on. And if Lucy was anywhere near, then the rest of the Narnians were too. That was the only way that he could think of to keep Ariadne safe.

Ariadne walked alongside him, but they did not need to advance much. The creek was quickly incorporated to the main river, and in that moment Ariadne did not see a reason to continue on walking. She became distracted with the trees and the water. Edmund stopped with her, feeling worried that someone that he could not hear was calling to her.

Edmund pulled Ariadne to his side protectively as she only watched the surroundings curiously. He did not want her to be pulled away from him again, that was the only straight thought on his mind.

But luck was on their side; the bridge the Telmarines had built for their crossing was not much ahead of them, and Edmund knew it was quite dangerous, but alas, that was the only way they could find anyone.

As if his thoughts became real, the quietness of the woods was broken by the sound of horses galloping and battle cries.

Some men started crossing the bridge, until there was movement in the shrubbery on the side the couple was standing on. Lucy emerged, her little dagger drawn out. The men stopped, Sopespian at the beginning of their formation. Edmund felt Ariadne stir by his side, but before she could do anything, or anyone could, Aslan followed her. Ariadne gasped at the sight of the Great Lion. She couldn't believe her eyes, Aslan himself was majestically standing beside a queen of old.

Sopespian gazed at them; Ariadne felt his eyes on her, and he smirked cynically. But she smiled too for she was alive, and he had lost his battle. But he laughed cruelly before he commanded the Telmarines to charge against them all. Ariadne felt helpless, but Edmund valiantly took out his sword, ready to fight.

Then, a huge, human-like figure erupted from the water and crushed the wooden bridge, Telmarine soldiers that were crossing it disappearing within the water far away upwards in the current. Many drowned, but Sopespian and his horse remained untouched, until the bridge was broken into three parts and the water god took the piece of wood in which he was in. He held him high in the air, and waited a moment as if expecting the general to say something before he dissolved and let him fall into the depths of the water.

The water fell to its original place again, and there was no sign of any of the soldiers that had gone away with it. It eventually calmed, but the soldiers were frightened and went into the river, seeking to flee anywhere. But before any of them did escape, Aslan roared so powerfully everyone stopped at his voice.

"Stay peaceful and not harm will come to you," Many remained just standing in the waters, waiting for anything to happen. "You shall not be harmed," the Lion spoke again. This time the soldiers that remained on dropped their weapons in piles among the rocks and crossed peacefully. Narnians crossed with them and little by little the space became filled with soldiers from both sides.

They looked at the assemblage of Telmarine soldiers and Narnians across the river, Ariadne desperate to find familiar faces among the crowd. Finally she spotted Caspian, alive and well after so long since she had last seen him, after so much lies built upon his disappearance.

Ariadne would have run up to him, but before she could do so Queen Lucy separated from the Great Lion and came near them, knowing now that the battle was over.

"Is that her?" Lucy asked quite loudly. Ariadne smiled politely, a bit confused.

"Oh, I'm sorry, that was rather rude..." Ariadne, after the confusion faded away, turned to Edmund, and smiled, identifying physical similarities between the girl and her lover.

"Queen Lucy, it's my honor to meet you," Ariadne bowed her head with a smile. "I believe this is yours," she handed her the vase with red contents that she had accidentally kept after Edmund gave her a drop. "Thank you," she said sincerely. Lucy smiled shyly as she accepted her cordial back. She looked at Edmund first, how he was looking at Ariadne, and then back to her, and giggled.

"Ariadne!" someone shouted from behind Lucy. She turned at the sound of the voice of her brother, ignoring involuntarily Peter and Susan who had accompanied Caspian. She walked quickly to embrace him, not caring that his clothes were dripping with water. Both of their moods couldn't seem to brighten anymore than they were at that moment

Lucy, upon watching the scene, hugged all of her siblings, infected with love.

"Your cordial really did help," Edmund said to Lucy after hugging sessions were done.

"Aslan said you'd need it." But Peter hadn't hugged Edmund and chose that moment to do so.

"So...I'm guessing we won," Edmund laughed as he held Peter.

"Yeah, we did. With a little help," Peter said, letting go and looking at Lucy.

Laughs and smiles were exchanged from one sibling to the other, without any reason for it to be except that they were together again.

Susan looked at Caspian and saw him with Ariadne, and she didn't take long to match the pieces together; she was his sister, the one he had been worried about so much over the last week, and allegedly the one Edmund seemed to care about quite a lot too. That thought made her turn to him instinctively, and caught him looking at her. He couldn't help his eyes lingering on Ariadne, even though he knew she would be just fine with Caspian.

"You too, Ed?" she asked loudly, calling the attention of Lucy and Peter. "Who would have thought, right? A Telmarine and 1300 years later!" She said casually, Edmund turned and chuckled. Both laughed at the sudden easiness of heart.

Indeed, if he had been told that he would feel that way during the Golden Age, he wouldn't have believed it.

[~~~~~~~~~~~~]

Their environment was of rapid change; people striving about everywhere, trying to organize themselves.

The remaining Telmariness surrendered their weapons and approached the Narnians like friends, like it had always should have been. It was hard for the soldiers to really acknowledge their existence of these mythological creatures, and even more to realize that in the end, they weren't that different from each other.

Ariadne listened to all of the soldier's stories as she tended to their wounds and helped them organize again. Many seemed baffled at her tenderness of heart, especially just after what Miraz had done.

Edmund watched, his thoughts plagued with the need to be with her alone, but he knew that now was not the time.

Soon enough the army was organized and ready to follow the commands of the new leader: Caspian, that mercifully let them live. Caspian whispered something in Ariadne's ear and she followed her brother. Caspian stood in a wooden platform with her sister standing besides, on looking at the people, but she did not participate in her brother's speech.

"Telmarines and Narnians," he called as others gathered. Edmund followed them, and when Ariadne saw him, she felt her heart skip a beat, even though it had only been but two hours since they had been in each other's arms.

Ariadne looked at him, cuts in his face and his hair disheveled; she thought that was when he had looked most handsome. Her heart felt swarmed with feelings for him and she too only wanted to be alone with him in that moment, tied by their love; but she knew there were other matters to settle first.

For the time being, they conformed themselves with a glance. But it carried such intensity it made her mind wonder back into their first kiss and what she felt inside. Ariadne looked away, somewhat ashamed of her own imagination. Edmund fought to hide his smug smirk, knowing perfectly well the reason behind Ariadne's subtle blush. Thankfully for both, nobody else seemed to notice.

"We are Narnia, every single one of us, no matter if human or beast. We all are the same nation. " he started, "We shall return to the city, return united. We are brothers and sisters, from this day forth." The crowd cheered.

"This may be something new, but it is our chance to rebuild. We have become obsessed with power and did not care who we had to step on to get it. But now we won't be so selfish. Let's mend our mistakes helping each other."

Once again they cheered, and the words 'for a change' could be faintly distinguished. But finally the crowd gathered a chant to repeat.

"Hail King Caspian! Long live the new King!"

"And the Princess Ariadne!" the men she had helped with their wounds screamed. Edmund looked at her and smiled whole heartedly.

The song filled both Caspian and Ariadne, feeling like every piece was falling where in its place. Caspian looked at Aslan, standing next to him, seeking his approval. The Lion nodded at him with what could have been thought as a smile. A roar erupted from His throat, making the people call Caspian's name louder.

Miraz had been a tyrant, but Caspian was honest and loyal to a sense of justice and righteousness to which the soldiers seemed to grasp, making him earn their trust. The simple thing that Caspian had spared their lives and invited them to join him was refreshing, since they would have thought they were to be butchered, like in any other battle. Caspian had truly been born for the throne.

"You left to confront your foes and you will be returning as friends; Narnians and Telmarines, as it always should have been." Caspian walked towards his horse, the same he had lent Susan that miraculously returned safely to him. He mounted it and looked at the army again, and without hesitation, the soldiers started following.

Ariadne waited patiently for Caspian to advance with the Pevensies, each mounted in a horse, and Aslan leading the people into the city, peaceful and united.

She was fairly distracted with a smile on her face, watching the caravan go when she felt a hand placed on the small of her back.

"Looking for a horse, my lady?" Ariadne smiled as she turned.

"Indeed I am, _my king." _she mocked Edmund, her voice playful not knowing why he insisted in keeping the titles.

"Then would you do me the honor of riding with me?"

"I am not sure that would be wise, your majesty. You should be riding alongside your brother and sisters. Do not let me be a distraction."

At this Edmund cocked his eyebrow, and Ariadne couldn't resist laughing; their masks of frivolity going away. Edmund came closer to her, smile still on his face, and took her by the waist.

"Please? For me?" he begged, his eyes captivating her.

Ariadne laughed in return, her eyes looking at her surroundings, everything but him. "I can't, I am no hero of this battle." she said sincerely. Edmund grabbed her hand and held it with his own.

"You were, and you are as brave as any knight." He kissed the top of her hand. Ariadne came closer, their bodies touching, their respirations coming from the same air, their eyelashes colliding against one another's. Their environment muted, only they were there.

"Was I?" Ariadne brushed her lips against his, her mouth slightly open. She tilted her head and pecked the corner of his mouth slowly, teasing him.

Edmund reached out to her mouth, fully intending to kiss her but Ariadne backed away.

"If I truly was, then I accept, King Edmund." she turned, leaving him with his brow furrowed and mounted horse behind her. Edmund followed her and helped her up the horse, letting her hold the reins.

He climbed behind her and held her by the waist, his face pressed against the back of her head. Ariadne kept her distance from her brother and the rest of the King and Queens of Old, quietly blending with the Telmarine and Narnian generals.

Both felt happy and full but it wasn't long before Ariande became absent, her thoughts deriving from banalities to what would become of her world next. Her sudden silence scared Edmund and it was in the moment that he realized that every second he had with her was precious.

He softly circled the top of her hand with his thumb, both holding the reins as his other hand held her by her stomach. They were very soft caresses and quite innocent as well, but they served its purpose. Soon Ariadne's mind was plagued with the thought of Edmund and only him. She truly wanted to stay focused on the road, but Edmund couldn't keep still.

"It would be better if you kept your hands to yourself." Ariadne said with a hint of humor in her voice.

"Only if you want me to." Edmund replied, his voice husky. Ariadne laughed guiltily, Edmund smiled.

But Edmund did listen to her and decided to rest his hands on her thighs. She didn't think he did it because of anything, but with the movement of the horse his hands brushed in between her legs, making her burn inside.

She was amazed at how even the slightest touch of him could rile her up. If she had listened to her aflame senses she would have acted out of utter desire, but she used all her strength, by thinking that time was on their side now.

The city drew nearer, the forest floor turned into stone. Ariadne became visibly nervous, turning her head from side to side as they crossed.

"Edmund, I don't think this arrangement is proper...we need to find another horse." she spoke quickly.

"There is no need, Ariadne."

"But the people will be—and it isn't the best of signs for both of us to be drawn apart from the rest—" she could not get her thoughts ordered, and in consequence her words did not make sense.

"Nobody will judge us." Edmund started and kissed her neck quickly as a sign of reassurance. "We come showing peace and victory, and you helped me achieve it. Don't worry about what anyone else thinks. I need you next to me."

Ariadne noticed with comfort that Edmund was right; all eyes were on Caspian and Aslan. That day, no one noticed the couple.

Ariadne turned her head slightly to see him, and he smiled and reached to kiss her cheek quickly.

Ariande relaxed after they continued advancing, noticing that nobody of the kingdom seemed to be taken aback by their arrangement.

She realized that not everything in the life of a royal required impeccable routine and protocol, even though she had been taught otherwise. It seemed everything she knew would change completely, now that her little world was being rebuilt, and her heart renewed.

Ariadne let go of the rein from one hand and held Edmund's. With their fingers entwined and their palms pressed against one another, they entered the castle, Ariadne feeling the safest she had ever felt in her whole life.

[~~~~~~~~~~~]

The gates of the castle closed and the sun was close to setting. Ariadne dismounted the horse in the courtyard, Edmund following her afterwards. Ariadne turned to look at him, and smiled. Edmund walked closer to her, but Ariadne walked on into the darkened corridors.

Edmund played her game and chased her through the maze of the castle, corridors after corridors until Ariadne halted.

Edmund approached her and held the back of her neck, raising her face to his. Her mouth was half opened and Edmund hovered his lips over hers, feeling their breaths.

They could only feel flames between them, desire that had been stored for far too long.

Ariadne muttered his name slowly, and it was when Edmund decided to reach in and kiss her, his hand descending onto her back as hers lingered on his chest.

Edmund pressed her against the stone wall, his hands around her head. Ariadne grabbed his hair into her fist as their lips expressed how much they wanted each other.

Their heads where tilted, their lips savoring every new emotion they made each other feel with every tug and every tongue slip.

But as Edmund's hand went to her neck and travelled downwards on her body, Ariadne stopped and took his hand that was resting on her cleavage and pressed her forehead against his.

Both knew that their passion did nothing but increase, the line between love and lust fading irrevocably. Their hurried movements revealed their true intentions.

And if Ariadne hadn't stopped the moment, it would have ended in desire, but as much as they both craved each other, that night wasn't the right one.

Their breaths were strident, their lips barely touching one another's. He leaned to taste her lips again, but Ariadne didn't let him do so. He looked at him in the eyes.

"We'll have time, but not today." Ariadne kissed his upper lip, gently tugging it but separated from him quickly, taking a few steps ahead from him.

"Goodnight, Edmund." she bowed her head with a smile upon her lips and turned the corner, her footsteps disappearing along with the remaining daylight.

They had escaped the day that had brought so much wretchedness, and Edmund prepared himself for a long night, counting the hours until he could be with her again.


	9. Cobble Street Passages

**Hi. Weeeell, the time has come for the rating of this story to go up. Let's just say that this chapter is… well, important for both of the lovers. But, if you don't agree well with this type of scenes, don't worry, you can skip it.**  
**Anyway, hope you enjoy and pwease leave a teensy little review…pretty pretty please?**  
**R&R! **

_Chapter 9_

_Cobble Street Passages_

_Space Dementia in your eyes and_

_Peace will arise_

_And tear us apart_

_And make us meaningless again._

Late that night, trapped within her room she could not help her mind into thinking of him. She could almost feel his eyes on her, the warmth of his body pressed against hers.  
She could only imagine what it would be like to be with him as the darkness of the night consumed her chambers. For a moment she regretted letting him go and not spend the night by his side, cuddled in his arms.

Her mind thought of lustful sceneries, much to her regret, it drove her into madness and she could not longer stand not having him. She could not resist the thought of him, much less when she was on her own.

Even after all of their struggles, and their triumph in the end, they still could not be together. He was lying on another bed, far away from her. She only had his memory, and that was what frustrated her the most.

She let herself think of those lips, his mouth against her own, his hand sliding down sensually on her body. Her eyes closed, trying to feel him again. Her imagination conceded her desires soon enough; her lips had the sensation of his, her body heated up. She recognized that familiar tingle within her and it seemed irresistible. Before she knew it, she felt her own hand slither down her navel, not resisting the temptation welling up inside her.

She was throbbing down, flames erupting from her stomach and flaring into the rest of her body like hot coals. As she thought of him, of their last passionate kiss and the gentleness of his hands caressing her body, her hand went to where the reason of her ache lied.  
She moaned silently as she rubbed back and forth, trying to satisfy her need for him.

Her hand circled her pleasurable parts, as she played and explored what she liked. Her fingers gently stroked herself, until she discovered that she needed friction. She fulfilled her needs ardently, for the fist time in her life feeling the need to do so. He had made her desperate, and he would be the one to full fill her need, she was certain.

Finally she found her own ecstasy, and with her limbs feeling like they were trembling she caught herself gasping out his name. Even if she had pleasured herself until she had reached relief, she wasn't satisfied. Not until it was his own hand playing down with her intimacy.

Her last thought before falling into slumber was Edmund; once the fires inside her hand diminished for the night, but not quite extinguished yet. Always him.

[-]

But Edmund's night had been much different for Ariadne's. He too craved to have her, for her to be safe beside him. He had a past, a past he was scared she would fall into. The thought of Ariadne and the Witch haunted him; how many must perish for his mistake? He would not permit her to fall into danger, but he feared he would not be there to stop it when it happened.  
He only wanted to be with her, and safeguard her from his own darkness. A night with her, that was all he wished; to fall asleep with his head nuzzled in her hair, her arms around her naked waist. That was all he wished for.

He too was certain that he would have her and let both their fires consume them as one.

For both, when the sun finally rose, hope grew inside. That was the day where a new life and era was to begin, and for them, the time when they had promised each other to be united. That night wouldn't be as sorrowful as the previous.

Both looked forward for the rest of the day, knowing for once that they would not have to go through any dangers that would threaten each other.

[-]

They saw each other until the coronation. Caspian sat in the throne; a crown upon his head while Lords of Telmar chanted his name. "Caspian the tenth!" the people exclaimed, Ariadne smiled.  
"Once a King of Narnia, always a King of Narnia." Aslan roared before Caspian stood, proud of himself as the people continued proclaiming his name. Everyone in the throne room knelt in the presence of the new king, but as they rose, Ariadne finally let her curiosity get the best of her and distract herself from her brother and avidly searched the crowd for the man that deliciously haunted her dreams.

It did not take her long to identify the Just King from among the crowd; but as her eyes ran up from his clothes to his eyes, he found them already on hers. At that moment Edmund smiled coyly and lingered his sight on her until the very moment she disappeared through the doors of the room behind Caspian. Edmund walked out, ready to start the progression around the city among his siblings. The thought of sharing a horse with her again ran through his mind, but he knew that it wasn't appropriate to do it one time, much less to do it twice.

So Edmund climbed his horse steadily: a brown stallion and with a pain in his heart realized it was much like Phillip. Oh, all of what he would give upto have met Ariadne during the Golden Age...Perhaps things would have been better and fate would have smiled at them, but it wasn't any good to dwell on what if's. She was perfect, that much he knew.

The clamors of the people became mumbles in his head; he could only count the time left to hold her close.  
He admired her from behind; her horse was black like her hair, her head was adorned with a crown of golden flowers entwined with natural small blossoms taken from the gardens surrounding the castle, just like Lucy and Susan. Her coral colored dressed fit perfectly to her waist and accentuated the slight curve of her hips. The skirt fell graciously on the rear of the horse, and he could make the outline of her legs.

The people of the city threw flower petals at their new King from their windows, and blessed Caspian's allies. Ariadne looked up to a little girl that eagerly called out both her and Caspian's name and offered her a smile. But before she returned her eyes to the road, she looked back to him, her face half turned. Ariadne felt herself tremble in expectation of the moments they had ahead of them. Guiltily she thought of what she had done the previous night, and blushed again that moment, but Edmund only thought how beautiful her rosy cheeks were and how they suited the color of her dress.

Seeing she was distracted, a young man offered her a blooming rose, which she gladly took, separating from her brother, letting him go ahead of her. The lines in which they were formed were disarrayed, making Susan travel alongside Caspian, Peter with Lucy and, when she finally regained course, she alongside Edmund. They cut the distance separating them, making them the closest to each other in the line.

Edmund extended his hand and entwined fingers with her. Ariadne smiled as she looked at both their hands, and then looked at him.  
They did not share words that time, for they knew that they would have time to speak, when the sun fell, when the dance in honor of the coronation began.

But Ariadne decided to be brave and reckless for the first time, and separated from the party when they where close enough to the walls of the castle so that they weren't discovered. Ariadne guided him to a passage way, hidden between both buildings. Edmund did not waste time into regaining the position in which they were last night, hands around her head, pinning her to the wall.  
Yet again Ariadne made him wait when he leaned in to her for the most innocent of kisses, but she placed her finger to his lips and smiled as she shook her head.  
"Not yet," taking her finger from his face, she kissed the corner of his mouth once more. "Patience, love." she whispered.

She intended to turn around again like she had done the day before, but he held her close to him by the waist.  
"I don't think I'm capable of that..."  
"You'll have to," she replied, "But not that long," she smiled one last time before taking his hand once more and guiding him to the Royal Hall, through a concealed door in that alley.

Still hand in hand, they entered. Their arrival was announced, if a bit late than the other spotlights of the party, causing Caspian to raise his eyebrow as she came inside with Edmund. But she wasn't guilty of anything. At least, not yet.

They sat next to one another, enjoying every minute of the feast. Aslan wished the best of health to the people present, and so the celebration commenced, and not only there, but in the entire kingdom. All around Narnia was a day for party.

They ate, and they drank, fauns made beautiful music with their flutes. Shortly after, Ariadne was asked to dance by a Narnian, but she had to decline, ashamed that she didn't know how to dance to that type of music. Susan did accept Caspian's invite, and the faun insisted, and Ariadne, upon feeling all the wine she had drunken in her head, accepted. She let herself be guided by the Narnian, the skirt of her dress swirling around her.

Edmund remained seated, watching her figure move, his head thinking of things it was best not to speak of. A part of him wanted to jump into the dance floor and go to her; she looked much too pretty not to be with him. But the other half was what made him stay behind. He was able to observe her from that distance; besides he did not like dancing one bit. He never had the aptitude for it.

Lucy sat in the empty seat next. "Why aren't you dancing, Ed?" he laughed.  
"Have you ever seen _me_ dance, Lucy?"  
"Oh come on, it's not like Ariadne knows how to do it, either. You know Narnian dances better than her."  
Edmund looked at her in the dance floor again, and caught her gaze already on him before she turned away, continuing the dance.  
Edmund sighed and nodded to Lucy, laughing slightly. He waited for the song to come to its end, and rose from the table and walked towards the dance floor. Step by step he dreaded the next song being an up beat one. He hated those the most. If only dancing was as easy as it was to wield a sword.

Ariadne bowed down to her partner, and Edmund stood behind the faun who kindly retired to give his place to the young king.  
"Will you grant me the next dance, my beautiful lady?" he asked. Ariadne bowed down to him, her eyes not leaving his.  
"Of course, my king."

They stood, each at a different end, waiting for the next song to be played.

From the first note, Edmund recognized the song. He was taken back to those night long balls Susan used to host in Cair Paravel, once upon a time. He remembered watching countless couples dancing immersed into each other, as if the were the only ones. The tune itself was enchanting and definitely provocative, and now he had finally found someone to dance it with.

Ariadne listened to it a bit more, trying to identify it.  
"I'm afraid you'll need to guide me,"  
"It will be my pleasure."

Edmund grabbed her close, and she could feel his breath on her cheek when she had her face turned, trying to imitate the other girls dancing too.

Their bodies were pressed, their heat combining. They moved slowly, feet moving in synchronization, Edmund changing his hands from up and down her waist as the music demanded.

Ariadne did not know the song, but the way they were dancing to it she had seen plenty of times. It did not take her long to understand her role and do the according movements.

Edmund twirled her, watching her skirt elevating. She straightened herself once she stopped spinning, closing the distance between them again. Her hand travelled down his chest, and then she circled him dancing, as he turned his head trying to observe her.

Ariadne spun one last time around him, and stopped by pressing her back against his chest. Edmund let his hands travel around her torso and pecked with a kiss her bare shoulder.

The music was coming to its end quickly as Ariadne stood in front of him again. She touched his face, both breathing heavily at their physical effort. The song was straying itself into its final cords, when Ariadne finally kissed him. They held each others lips until the very last instrument stopped vibrating with its last note, and parted both looking for air.

Both saw their pupils dilated and Edmund wondered how much longer he had to wait and especially if he was capable of doing so.  
"I forgot to tell you how absolutely stunning you look," he mumbled between another brief kiss.  
She bowed as a curtsy to the ending of the song. "As you look handsome too, with that dark look upon you."  
A clap that always followed each end of a dance interrupted their conversation.  
There was too slight mumbles of voices among the courtiers. Perhaps they had drawn too much attention.

Another song started, this time a Telmarine one. Ariadne was pleased that she knew it and glad that it wasn't as scandalous as the previous tune.  
"It's my time to return the favor." she smiled before extending his hand for him to kiss: the greeting of the dance.

His lips gently touched her skin and he stroked her bent fingers with his thumb before she put his arms around him, ready to guide him step by step.

They simply danced around other couples in circling the floor. Their faces were pressed, and it was as if both could feel their flames entwining and threatening to burn them.

The moon was now showing its light through the large windows, stars decorating the night sky. Their breaths were intoxicated with the smell of wine; the heat was growing in the room, and the hours slipping from their fingers.

They danced for many other songs, Edmund suddenly not caring about not dancing properly. Anything where she was involved was worth it.  
"The stars are our only witness." Ariadne breathed into his ear after the song ended, and they exchanged a look of pure desire.

She wanted him. Desperately. She did not know what had grown into her that made her so desperate for him; that night her feelings enhanced.

Everyone was very much distracted with their own affairs to keep noticing Ariadne's and Edmund's. If they were to slip away from the ball now that the right time.

Ariadne took his hand as they walked through the maze of people celebrating Caspian's coronation.  
Couples were already hidden away in the shadows of the corners of the room. Rain was pattering down against the windows, making the room tremble with the sound.

Still hand in hand, they crossed hallways, the drizzle coming through glassless windows. Their shoes and feet became wet; their hair was dewy but their insides burning with desire.

Finally she grabbed his face to kiss him, letting her back collide against the wall once they were close enough to the chamber Ariadne had chosen to spend the night with him. She knew no one would strive into it in the morning, or know that two lovers were hiding inside.

Ariadne kissed him passionately, and turned him around so he was now the one pressed against the wall. They couldn't hide their smiles as they kissed.

Ariadne opened the door to find the room much warmer than the outside world, with the chimney lit already; moonlight and fire illuminating their way.

His teasing kisses made her crave for the ultimate touch she had tried to give herself; while satisfying at first, in the end, her hands were not his.

They entered and stood in the middle. She looked at him and scanned him from up down. It was not difficult to piece the parts together, and soon he took her mouth within his. He thought she looked irresistible.

His kisses went from soft to ardent, as he tested and teased her. He kissed her cheek, and slowly back into her mouth. He popped a harmless kiss into her closed lips, he took her chin and opened her mouth, allowing him entrance and kissed her so fiercely she moaned into him. That was the moment where he became certain of what she truly wanted.

Continuing the kiss, she took his hand in hers and guided it to her lower stomach. She broke the kiss and looked at him, "Please" she said lowly, barely audible as she guided his hand down as if she were showing him the way to her body. She rested his hand until it reached where she wanted to, and he just let it stay there. Never did she take her eyes of his dark ones as she slid his hand, but now they held an uncertainty as he looked down at the position of his hand.

For a moment she thought she had done wrong and should have never asked such scandalous thing, but without any warning he took hold of her lips once again. Surprised, she kissed him back. His hand squeezed the part she had placed it in and she could not suppress the moan that came to her throat. He smiled in the kiss.

She was surprised to find her soul lit on fire, a deep ache in her chest. She was choosing him above everything.

There was no going back now.

Edmund took her by the waist and spun her around, as if it was a soft waltz, a nightly illusion. Their lips found each other and it became evident how desperate he had grown for one another.

It didn't take long for the kissed to become fired up. By this point it was hard to distinguish between love and lust; perhaps their acts were based on a confusion of both these feelings.

She wanted to toy with his hair, the dark locks that formed there, as she wanted to get rid of his clothes as well. But he wanted to be in control. It had been too much waiting, and he wanted nothing more than to please her.  
Taking her hands and pinning them to the wall behind, he kissed her neck and below, feeling her purr.  
He then carried her as she wrapped her legs around his torso and set her down on a forgotten table. The decorations fell to the stone floor with a loud noise as deepened the kiss of her neck and breasts.

"Why now?" he spoke, suddenly interested. His kisses were still tempting, driving her to the edge.  
"We held up for too long," her left hand rested at the arch of his neck, her right hand at his chest. Her dress had fallen behind her knees, daring his pale hand to go beyond her thighs. Before he did anything, he hovered over her, their gazes meeting, both eyes holding unmistakable need.

Edmund knew that their time was running out, driving him even closer to Ariadne. He knew many things, and that guilt that always seemed to follow him everywhere overpowering him for a moment. He felt that so many things were wrong, but yet he only wanted to be united to her, even if that would burden them later.  
"Redeem me of my wrongs, just for the night my love," he said, she kissed her gently as a response.  
"Only be yourself," she renewed the kiss, and he replied as fiercely as he could.

Right in that moment the only thing she was certain about was that she wanted him, and he that she needed her to lighten the dark part of his personality.

Placing both of her feet to the floor, he grabbed her hand and led to the bed.

The kissing renewed, his hand soon found a way to her waist, and kept there waiting. Hers, after becoming untangled from his hair went to his chest and searched madly for a string that would help undo his clothing. This gave him a cue and did the same with her dress at the front, where it had a pair of knots.

He undid the pretty little dark ribbons that served to hold her bodice together. Once open, he let his hand caress over her breasts with the slightly loosed her dress.

He slowly let the kiss they shared came to its end, slowing down his lips to hers. They parted and he stood behind her, Ariadne seemed anxious to have her lips on his again; but he was in rush. He wanted to memorize each moment deep within his mind.

He took her dark hair and swept it to the side. He starting undoing the corset, slowly, when it finally opened up to reveal her back he let his fingertips caress every bit of her skin as possible. Ariadne felt a hot trail where his fingers passed, and that combined with the cold wind from the night, made her shake. Her brain became a fuss for a moment, suddenly realizing that she had given up so much to him in so little time.

"I'll be gentle with you, I promise love." Edmund said, thinking it was because him. He had spoken them with such sweetness, both love and lust radiating from the words.

He turned her around once again and continued undressing her. He tried pulling her dress further down, but past her shoulder, she held his hands. She kissed him unexpectedly and started undressing him.

The leather suit he had was hard to undo, but she removed it eventually and found a linen shirt underneath. His chest was lean and slightly toned; she allowed her hands to feel his stomach. He smiled at her ingenuity.

This time, he pulled the dress down, and she too, was left with an under dress that was much too revealing; pink and highly decorated, it was loose enough for him to be able to outline her body in the moonlight. He admired the design, knowing that it wouldn't last that much on her skin.

It was badly tied, leaving a sort of hole right between her breasts, leaving him just enough view to let his imagination run wild. Hungrily, he craved to undo it and get rid of any fabric between them but again, she made him wait.

She let herself fall on the bed, and over her he perched gracefully. His arms now showed their muscles and she couldn't help but touch them, and eventually let her hand travel down that short line of hair that went down his stomach down his trousers. She could feel the burning sensation between her legs as he pulled the underdress up to her chest.  
Ariadne assisted him and pulled it up her head. They renewed the kiss and his hand travelled from the nape of her neck to her shoulder, to her breasts and nipples, to her waist, to her hip, past her thighs; all following the soft curves of her body.

But he stopped upon reaching in between her legs. Doing the same that she did, he paused and started fingering her slowly, watching how she tilted her head back into the pillows in pleasure. He kissed her lower stomach, his mouth descending progressively until he was where he wanted.

Yet his tongue did not do much instead he let a finger slip inside her.

Moans started deep into her throat and came out of her mouth quietly, as if she was trying to silence them. "Edmund," she said as her head tilted into the pillows, his name muttered with a short breath. Her voice made him more aroused for her and with that free hand he started undoing his own trousers.

Ariadne tried to collect herself and pulled him to her again with a kiss.  
She quickly helped him getting rid of that hideous clothing item the moment he pulled his hand out of her.

A few struggles later, they were no longer worried with their clothing. She turned him, his back against the mattress and sat above him, pinning his hands at his side, at which Edmund smirked.  
"Better if you leave this to me." Ariadne shook her head no in response.  
"Spare me a few seconds," she gave him a quick kiss, and let her tongue tease his for a few seconds before letting herself taste his skin.

Once her mouth reached a certain spot, it was to her time make _his _head tilt back in pleasure. As her mouth did wonders, he thought he would collapse right there, with her dominating.  
His hand stayed at her shoulder, pressing as he moaned and almost filled his way to ecstasy. He shook and trembled and just before climax, she stopped as he had done. It took him a few seconds, but he made her back lay flat in the pillows again.

They kissed once again, he falling shortly beside her to regain his breath from his cock in her mouth. He kissed her tenderly, slowly building up the heat again. He kissed her neck as his hand travelled back down and gasped when they reached down once again. He dug a finger inside her again, testing before starting. He drew them out and searched her eyes. She moaned, pleasing him.  
"Are you sure?" he asked, she rose her head up to his ear and whispered a shy "Yes,"

At her command he kissed her once more, and played with every bit of skin as possible; he knew it was best for her to relax and forget before the moment came. It would hurt less, they said.  
And she did, she forgot for an instant.  
Her hands where in his hair, and her legs laced in his low torso. He took one of her hands, her fingers intercrossed with his. That was the moment he chose for them to become one. They had passed the moments of pure lust, now it was time their love show.

That moment, when they were finally together, felt like truly making love, not only desire. Now her moans next to his ear, at first low and how they got increasingly louder, made her feel her pleasure combined with his. '_Us' _was the word in both of their minds. Soon enough came the pleadings of the quickness to increase, and he felt happy to oblige his lady.  
As he thrust in and out of her, her moans turned louder with his name in them. The crackling of the burning wood, their moans and flesh colliding against flesh were the sounds inside the room.

When she came to her climax, she gave a long cry of pleasure and he was released inside her. He fell at her side, breathing as heavily as she was.

None of them could have been happier than in that moment, and thus, knowing words were not necessary, they shared one last long stare into each other's eyes, immersed in their feelings.

Edmund thought her eyes had gathered moonlight, sparkling like no other. He knew that she was the only one that could spare him of the darkness inside.

Ariadne rested her head in his bare chest as his hand played with her long hair. He kissed the top of her head, their fingers still entwined. Pure bliss filled each of their hearts. Now they knew they could never let each other go.

Both decided in that moment that silver was the color of their love. And she fell into slumber with the sight of his loving gaze, swarmed with affection for him, tranquil that the moon had been the only witness of their union.


End file.
